


Danny Phantom: Marooned!

by Phantom_Master



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:47:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21817657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantom_Master/pseuds/Phantom_Master
Summary: Danny and Sams relationship has survived highschool, but can it withstand the test of time when a powerful new threat sets his sights on Sam?
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Sam Manson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> This starts at the end of Phantom Planet. If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching it first but it shouldn't be necessary.

"A robot?" Panic creeped into Maddie’s voice upon realizing her son had been replaced with an automaton. "Jazz, where's your brother?"

Jazz looked over to the burning wreckage of the specter speeder, her face doing a poor job of concealing her own panic.

"Jack, _where's Danny?_ " Maddie was becoming downright hysterical. There was no way he was the one in that shuttle.

"I'm right here, Mom." Danny’s light voice cut through the tension, as he appeared from the bathroom, shaking some excess water off his hands. 

"DANNY?!?!" Sam, Tucker and Jazz were all shocked, he was not fast enough to have escaped the shuttle.

  
  


"I didn't want you guys to worry if I took too long, so I dressed up Tuck-bot." Danny excused.

That was when a sudden flash outside of the window caught everybody’s eyes. It was a sight to behold as Danny Phantom himself appeared in the air, alongside all his supposed enemies. Specters who had once sworn to destroy the world were all coming together to save it.

Sam looked back at the Danny right next to her, the one who had just come out of the bathroom. She had no idea what was going on, but the relief over his survival ultimately exceeded her confusion. She ran up to hug him.

"Umph", Danny let out as she smacked into him. "Come on." Danny grabbed her hand and lightly pulled her off of himself. "Let's go watch. I never actually get to _watch_ these things."

"But how did-?" Confusion was back now, but so was sheer happiness. She had been certain to have lost her best friend.

  
  


"I'll explain later." Danny promised. He led her by the hand over to the window. He knew how this would go. 

Danny and Sam watched as thousands of ghosts turned the planet intangible just in time to let the disasteroid pass through. Once it was over, and the ghosts had returned to their homes, people started surrounding the only one remaining: The ghostly teen responsible for saving the world. 

  
  


"Go." Danny smiled at her as he let go of her hand. "He's gonna want to see you."

Sam looked puzzled, but decided to trust him. She went to congratulate the hero alongside the others. He watched as she waited her turn to hug the ghost boy.

"Heh." He quietly laughed to himself, going ghost to fly away while everybody was distracted. "They sure make a good couple."

He shortly after appeared in Ghost Zone’s clock tower. 

"Thank you, Clockwork." He handed the amulet back to the time ghost.

"You saved both our worlds.", he replied, "Consider us even."

Danny laughed, awkwardly, "Still. I know it was only a few weeks, but it was crazy having everyone know about me." Danny sighed before ranting, "I was never alone. Either fans or reporters always bugged me." He paced frantically

"People wanted to know how I got my powers. My dad wanted to run tests on me. My friends were harassed. My girlfriend…. " Danny went on and on.

"Child, I know." Clockwork sympathized. "Don't you know who you are talking to?"

Danny halted mid-step, hovering over the floor a little embarrassed. "Sorry. It's just… nice to vent. And I'm so glad it's over."

"It's quite alright, Child,'' Clockwork reassured him. "Remember, when you leave, you will have the memories of two distinct realities."

"Yea." Danny nodded, he began his flight home. "If you ever need anything, just ask!" Danny left the tower, his mind being invaded by three weeks of extra memories.

* * *

  
  


**5 years later**

"I'm going ghost!" Danny shouted with his usual dedication, signaling to Tucker and Sam to give him some cover. They stepped in front of him so no one could see him duck under the table to transform.

  
  


Danny Phantom emerged from the table and flew out of the Nasty Burger restaurant. As he followed the trail of boxes toward their destination, he could hear the cheers from the citizens of Amity Park. Since the Disasteroid he had gone from social pariah to the city's most beloved celebrity.

He noticed more box trails converging on the same location. He looked at the labels and saw their origin. The Nasty Burger trail he followed, McFoodals, even Taco King boxes were converging.

"Who would want all these boxes of food?" Danny asked himself, wondering if there was some sort of ghostly feast he hadn’t been invited to.

"Beware!" Danny heard a nasally voice before being struck by a blue ecto bolt.

He was flung through the air before catching himself. He turned around to see the assailant. A blue skinned man in overalls and a gray hat. He was familiar, yet different.

"Box ghost?" Danny asked, it had been several years since this ghost appeared. "Have you been working out?"

The ghost blushed, "Yea, I'm trying to impress the Lunch Lady."

The thought of two ghosts finding love in the afterlife was kind of sweet. "Aww." Danny said, sincerely, "But also, eww." The thought of _those_ two ghosts finding love in the afterlife was kind of gross.

Box Ghost went back into his defensive mode. "I won't let you take my loves presents!" He shouted. 

"I guess that explains why you're leaving things _in_ the boxes this time." Danny rolled his eyes before flying towards the spectral package handler, "But these things don't belong to you!"

His punch landed, but didn't affect the enemy the same way it used to. Box Ghost stood there calmly as Danny removed his fist from the ghosts face.

"Uhm, this is normally the part where you go flying." Danny raised his finger matter-of-factly as he explained.

  
  


Box ghost raised his fist, enveloped in his blue spectral energy, a menacing smirk on his face, "BEWARE!" he shouted as he punched Danny in the face, sending him through Axiom lab. 

Danny was barely able to phase through the building in time. He crashed on the lawn of the research facility. "Crud." He muttered, he had to get out of here before Valerie saw him. She may be the only person left who still saw him as public enemy number one. He phased into the ground and flew through the dirt, coming up out of the street to strike Box Ghost from below.

"This is surprising," Danny confessed. "You've gotten a lot better." Normally this ghost was a joke. The only time he ever made Danny worry before was when he had Pandora's box.

"Thank you." Box ghost blushed and smiled, "I mean, BEWARE!" he lunged one of the boxes of frozen meat at the halfa. 

Danny dodged it, quickly adapting to the former nuisances newfound skill. Danny started to fly towards his opponent, Box Ghost was ready to block when he was caught in a blue beam.

"Noo!" He called out in vain as he was pulled toward the source; The woman in the purple and black hazmat suit. Sam had it specially done so she could help Danny without being recognized. Danny flew down and landed in front of her. She closed the Fenton Thermos, trapping the villain inside.

"Thanks for the assist." Danny scoffed playfully.

"I'm sorry, were you having fun with the Box Ghost?" She teased. "I can always let him out." She toyed with the Fenton Thermos, shaking it back and forth.

"Let me out of this cylindrical contraption!" Box Ghost could be heard from his prison. Most ghosts accepted defeat once caught in the thermos, but he always thought he still had a chance. The two chuckled at him. Danny looked Sam in the eyes, even through the mask of the haz-mat suit, she still looked so beautiful when she smiled that it made his heart skip a beat. She nearly dropped the thermos as he took his arm around the small of her back and planted a kiss. 

*SNAP* *FLASH* Cameras started going off all around them. 

"Danny Phantom!" A reporter yelled. "Does this mean you and Spectre Assassin are dating?"

"Spectre Assassin?" Sam scoffed. "And you tried to call _him_ inviso-bill. You guys really need to come up with better names."

Danny laughed and took her in his arms, turning them both invisible and flying away from the barrage of personal questions. They flew back to Nasty Burger, but Tucker had left already. His work on the city council made it too risky for him to be as involved with the ghost hunting as he was before. 

Danny saw it as an opportunity to spend some more private time with Sam. He knew how she loved to fly with him, though she would never say it. She didn’t need to. The way she smiled when he would take sharp turns, the way her eyes widened when he would ascend into the sky, her laughs when he would do flips. It made him a bit of a show off, but she didn’t mind it. Today, though, he decided on a leisurely flight to help them relax.

He flew past the spot in the park where they had their first kiss. A fake-out make-out to help hide Danny from Valerie. The hill behind city hall where they would watch the city at sunset. The vegan restaurant where they had their first date. Danny hated that place, but he pretended to love it for her. And Sam pretended not to know to protect his sacrifice.

Sam looked up, she knew Danny was giving her his romantic tour, but to her the sight worth seeing was the wind blowing through Danny’s snow white hair, the sun gleaning off his ghostly aura. And that smile, the mixture of happiness and pride that always showed on his face when he was trying to impress her. Then he laughed, trying to hide his chuckle, which made her more curious. 

“What’s so funny?” She asked, wanting a glimpse into his mind. Was he remembering the time at that bus stop where Tucker first saw them kiss? His reaction then was priceless.

Danny looked away, feigning ignorance, and started to sing lightly, “I can show you the world,” he started swaying her to the rhythm.

“No!” Sam said, laughing, “Stop it”

“Shining, Shimmering, Splendid!” Danny belted it out like he was in a Broadway show, “Tell me, Princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?”

“Are you done?” Sam smiled, but tried to pretend she wasn’t amused. “We need to beat your parents.”

“Fine,” Danny rolled his eyes before doing a barrel roll to head towards Amity University. He made sure to be invisible the remainder of the flight. The less hints about who he was, the better. He flew into his dorm and made sure the door was locked.

* * *

"First day." Sam remarked as they changed in his room; Danny, into his human form, and Sam peeled off her hazmat suit to reveal her typical goth attire. "Are you excited?"

"Hardly." Danny said with a bit of attitude. " I want to be an astronaut. I need to go to the NASA space program or M.I.T. for that. Not… _community_ college." Danny fell into his bunk. The dorms were small but were still assigned to two students. Danny and Tucker were lucky to be able to get a dorm together. The two got bunk beds so they could fit their computers desks in as well.

"I know it's not what you wanted." Sam sympathized as she placed her stuff in Danny's computer chair, "But just take a few semesters here to raise your GPA and you can reapply next year."

"Don't do that." Tucker said as he entered the Dorm. He was studying political science and anthropology while also serving on city council. His term as interim mayor had ended with him losing the vote for the full time position. The public wanted someone with more experience and education.

"Don't do what?" Sam said, defensively.

"Don't get his hopes up." Tucker was brutal. "Don't get me wrong, Danny. You could do it. You're certainly smart enough. But you don't have time to keep fighting ghosts _and_ raise your GPA."

Danny looked completely defeated. "Danny… I… you know…" Sam was at a loss for words. She was furious at Tucker, but knew he was right. If he couldn't do it in highschool, why should they think he can do it now?

"It's fine, Sam." He took her hand. "I just… don't know what to do with my life. If I can't be an astronaut, what other passions do I have?"

"Ghost hunting!" Jack said, enthusiastically, as he kicked in the door with an armful of equipment. Maddie followed behind him, with two boxes of Danny's personal belongings. 

"Ugh," Danny groaned. “How could this get any worse?” 

"Don't deny it, Danny." Maddie said softly. "We found this in your room." She pulled out Danny's ghost zone binder. "These maps are incredible. You even account for ecto-currents. We never could have gotten them so detailed."

"I'm not even mad that you took the specter speeder!" Jack interjected, dropping the box and starting work on the door frame. It needed a ghost shield. "We sent the Fenton Drone in and followed your map. It was PER-fect!"

"Lt ee ut!" The Box Ghost was muffled by Sam's stuff.

"What was that?" Jack was quick to react. He pulled out the Jack-o-nine tails and stood up. His eyes scanned the room for the source of the sound.

"Just my new ringtone!" Sam said, reaching into her backpack and pulling out her phone. 

"I am the Box Ghost!" He could be heard clearly now, with the bag open.

"Well, change it." Jack said, kneeling once more, "Last thing we need is getting an actual ghost cry confused with a _ringtone_."

“I’ll do that right away,” Sam chuckled in agreement, “I need to organize my closet.” She took her bag, with the thermos, into her dorm a few halls down.

Danny looked at his maps. It was true, he loved it. Mapping the ghost zone was genuine exploration and discovery. Whenever he went in there, he never knew what he was going to find, would it be a mystical wonderland or a forsaken forest? If he met someone, would they be friend or foe? 

He had always wanted to be an astronaut, but all astronauts did now was to go to the moon and satellites. And they stay on the satellite for six months. No family for six months at a time. No _Sam..._ for six months at a time.

"I can't make that into a career." Danny said, shaking his head as if shaking the thought away, "You two have been able to make money as inventors, but I can't get gainful employment as… what would that be? An ecto-naut?"

"Gainful employment?" Jack scoffed, drilling the first few pilot holes into the frame. Hopefully the university won't mind that, "Just marry Sam! Her family's rich!"

"I'mmm gonna go." Tucker excused himself at this point, having to get to city hall for a council meeting. It was a convenient way to get out of this embarrassing moment.

"Jack!" Maddie scolded him. "That's horrible." She took a seat on the bed by Danny, she wrapped an arm around her son, hoping to dole out some motherly advice "Ghosts are public knowledge now. That ghost boy has most people in favor of ghosts," Maddie was clearly angry about this. "You could start a company. Map out the ghost zone and research ghosts, provide the knowledge to the public and be funded by investors or grants."

"Or you could do what your father suggested, and just have Sam fund it as your hobby. But that's a decision for you _and_ Sam once you’re married, not a reason to get married."

Sam returned just in time to hear the last sentence. ' _What's not a reason to get married?'_ She thought to herself. Was Danny gonna ask her to marry him? Her heart fluttered at the idea, but she wasn't expecting it. She stayed outside, hoping to hear more.

"Will you guys stop?" Danny said, pushing his mother away, embarrassed. It wasn't that Danny didn't love his family. He did. And he loved Sam, very much. But proposing, getting married, that had to be on his terms. And Sam's. He appreciated their support, but they had no say in this, "I don't know _what_ I'm gonna do." He said, unsure of both the ecto-naut idea and Sam.

"We support you no matter what." Maddie smiled and stood up, kissing her son, lovingly, on the forehead before going to help Jack with his gadgets.

"And Sam would be _Lucky_ !" Jack exclaimed. "You guys are great together! _And_ you would be able to keep her safe from ghosts." He was still talking about her funding Danny's exploration.

Sam blushed and brought her hand over her heart, biting her lip in excitement. She knew his parents liked her, but she never expected them to bring this up, to _want_ her in the family.

Jack's phone went off. "Ghost news!" He shouted excitedly. He jumped up and sat on the bed, nearly pushing Danny off, and turned the TV on the local news station.

The dark haired anchorwoman was in the middle of her story "Afterward, the local hero flew down to steal a smooch from his sidekick." The video of Danny and Spectre Assassin kissing was shown.

"Yuck." Jack said. "How disgusting does a person have to be to love a ghost?" he threw his palm up toward the television, almost as if shielding his eyes from the abomination.

Maddie rested her chin on her fist, "Well, we knew there was _something_ wrong with her when she started helping him." Sam was a little hurt now, for herself and for Danny. Would they still say these things if they knew about him?

"This raises all sorts of questions." The anchor said. "We all assumed she was human, due to a lack of flight or spectral abilities, but maybe she is a lower level ghost. And if she _is_ human, is it morally unethical for a human to date a ghost? Joining me now is ghost expert, Jason Hawks."

"Hey," Sam feigned a happy attitude as she walked in. She figured she wasn't going to hear anything more about Danny's plans. "Those two… made the news _again,_ huh?"

"Unfortunately." Jack said, defeated. Ever since Danny reached celebrity status, he couldn't hunt the ghost boy without the public ostracizing him. This ghost had beaten him.

"What could she _Possibly_ see in him?" Maddie said, disgusted.

"Well, you know," Sam said. "Whatever happens between two consenting people." She was desperate for Danny to see they would support them, no matter what. 

"One!" Maddie asserted, "One consenting person and an apparition. Maybe she's not even consenting! That's it!" She jumped up, slamming her fist into her palm, as if she just figured out the cure to cancer, "I bet he has her under some spell!"

Sam looked to Danny, he looked heartbroken, his dream of space exploration all but a memory. Though, Sam thought it was because his parents wouldn't even consider him a person if he told them the truth. 

"Uhh, Danny," Sam wanted to get him away from the continuing anti ghost rants, "Didn't you want to do something at Fenton Works before class? Let's leave them to install their shields." 

"Good idea." Danny skulked out of his room.

"We'll be here!" Jack said, excited to get back to his tools and gadgets. Maddie couldn't help but notice her son's dejected demeanor. 

* * *

**One hour later**

"Noo!!!" The Box Ghost could be heard as he was expelled into the ghost portal.

Danny opened the portal doors and held a McFoodals box. It was full of raw hamburger patties.

"Why did you ask the manager for that?" Sam asked, though she had an idea what it was for.

"Eh, call me a romantic." He tossed the box into the ghost zone. "Maybe this'll help him out a little. Could even get him to _ask_ next time."

Sam giggled a bit. It was cute that Danny was playing matchmaker with ghosts. She grabbed his arm in hers and led him out of the lab. They had to get to class.

The box flew through the ghost zone, callously tossed in with no trajectory. Floating past Skulkers Island and Walker's prison, the odd ghost investigating it. Upon reading the label "For the Box Ghost: Beware!" they decided it wasn't worth their time.

"For me?" Box Ghost said when the package finally arrived in front of him. He was struck by a cannonball and dropped the box. A net was thrown onto box and reeled it onto a ship. The hull of the ship had thousands of crows carved into it in exquisite detail. It certainly justified the name carved in the back. ‘Murder’.

"No." A ghostly pirate answered. Black, feathered wings protruded from his shoulders, the flag on his ship showing a moon being devoured by a large crow. "For me," He corrected.

"Captain Crowe!" A large half turtle called from a rowboat. He rowed into the main ship and appeared on the deck. "We just finished raiding the King Dark’s castle." He explained, his pockets bursting with treasure, same to be said for the two men behind him, who were carrying a chest. "She wasn't there."

"Well, that's it, then." The captain smiled, menacingly, "400 years searching every corner of the ghost zone; She isn't here."

"Why are you happy about that, Cap'n?" The turtle headed lieutenant asked.

"Because, Snapjaw," He said with a devilish grin, "My hard shelled friend, if she's not in the Ghost Zone, there's only one other place she can be." He turned the wheel sharply, making the entire crew brace themselves as the ship turned so tightly it almost capsized.

Snapjaw raised a brow in confusion, tilting his head as he asked, "You don't mean…" 

"Correct!" The captain didn't even let him finish. He ripped his hand into the package, pulling out the contents. "Who ships raw beef?"

* * *

Day one and already they had an assignment. Danny had figured an english class would be an easy A. His first assignment: A comparative essay. It should have been easy, but he could not, for the life of him, figure out what it should be about.

He was allowed to compare anything. Different soups, toothpastes, metals, as long as it was persuasive and informative. His mind was still on the fact that he had to give up on becoming an astronaut. He could compare exploring space to exploring the ghost zone, but the professor probably wouldn't take that kind of essay seriously. After all, people have just started believing in ghosts. The Ghost Zone was still an unknown thing to the masses.

Sam grabbed his hand, the gentle squeeze helped calm his mind. He smiled at her, grateful they were able to share a few classes together. Her right hand squeezed again, in response to his smile. Her left hand was thrown up on the desk with her paper. Of course, she already had a subject.

**Carnivorism vs Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarianism**

_Is that…?_ He wondered as he saw her ring. It was the promise ring he gave her in high school. He hadn't seen her wear it in over a year.

"I know," Sam blushed, hoping he saw the ring. She waved her hand nonchalantly, "It's a bit predictable of me, but maybe I'll be able to convince someone."

"Maybe," Danny brushed it off, "I was actually looking at the ring."

"Oh," Sam feigned ignorance, "I just figured since we're at a new school, I should wear it. Let the new boys see that I'm already taken."

"I hope you two are discussing topics." The instructor interrupted the lecture to scold the students.

"Danny was having trouble thinking of one," Sam said, "So I showed him mine, as an example." 

Dr. Verlen came up and examined her paper, reading the few paragraphs she already had written down. His eyes focused several times while reading, once he even nodded in agreement with it.

"Too political." He turned it down. He set it back on the desk and began to walk away.

"Too _political?_ " Sam stood up, slamming her hands on her desk, "Are you serious?!?"

The teacher turned around and tried to calmly explain. He was an older man. Late 50's. He had been doing this a long time and no longer had the energy to maintain the peace when political talks showed up in his class.

"This is a place of learning." He began, "Not a place to start political discussions you feel strongly about _now._ " Sam hated anytime someone insinuated she would _grow out of_ her lifestyle.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sam said, sarcastically, throwing her palms up.

"Uh, Sam…" Danny tried to stop her. Developing a bad relationship with the teacher on day one might not be a good idea.

"I thought college was the place to learn," Sam ignored Danny, "not only about the arts and sciences, but also how to think critically and independently of what we are taught to accept." She laughed sarcastically as she went on, "But I see you want to avoid that and never have us learn how to openly communicate, at least, not in any way that matters."

Dr. Verlen looked at her for a few seconds before sighing. He started walking away. "Pick a new topic, Ms. Manson."

Sam huffed and took her seat. This wasn't over. Not by a long shot. She started writing her next paragraph. Danny rolled his eyes; he knew there was nothing he could say to change her mind.

Sam was focused on her paper for a while before remembering the conversation she walked in on. She saw Danny, his brow furrowed and eyes closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Nothing on his paper, still.

_He's still upset,_ Sam thought. Of course, why wouldn't he be upset after hearing his parents say a sane woman wouldn't love him?

_Would that really be a good topic?_ Danny wondered. Whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza certainly couldn't be called political, but it would definitely be divisive. People tend to get really passionate about that.

Danny's thoughts were interrupted by Sam grabbing his hand again. Her attempt to soothe him actually did help him decide. After all, pineapple adds another vegetarian option to pizza. He smiled at her, her worry was relieved and she smiled in turn just in time for the lecture to end. Jazz was waiting for them in the hall, wearing green medical scrubs. 

"Danny!" Jazz hugged her brother, squeezing and shaking him in a mixture of excitement and encouragement, "You're in _college_ now! Aren't you so excited?"

"Sure." Danny gave his sister a half hearted response, returning the hug before letting her go, "How's your internship going?"

“Gr-Rate!" Jazz was excited, "I'm only a week in and I'm already making friends and learning _soo much!_ Danny..." she paused and her face went serious, "I saw...inside...a live brain."

It was easy to see how happy Jazz was. She was in a challenging environment she had been working toward for years. Endless late nights cramming in as much work as possible to graduate early and start her internship.

"Wow." Sam was impressed. "Did they let you operate yet?" Her eyes were wide with envy and excitement. This was the kind of gory detail she lived for. 

Jazz noticed her ring, "No, just observing for a while. What made you decide to bring this out again?" She grabbed Sam's hand and played with the ring. She liked this ring, but knew it went against Sam's style. That's why Sam stopped wearing it junior year of highschool.

"Oh, you know," Sam actually was embarrassed now. "Just something to show I'm taken. The guys here don't know yet."

Jazz caught on. She was a bit more insightful than her brother. "Danny, " she looked to her brother, still holding Sam's hand, "You can't let her walk around wearing a _highschool_ ring. You have to get her a new one! Something she can show off."

"Okay," Sam pulled her hand back. She was grateful for the help, but embarrassed beyond what she thought was possible, "enough of that." She chuckled awkwardly.

"So, uh, Jazz," Danny changed the subject, he didn't want to talk about jewelry, and didn't see anything wrong with the class ring. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I just ended my shift and mom said you would be here." She explained, "I thought we could get dinner. Catch up."

_Mom told her?_ Danny thought. _What else did they tell her?_

_"_ Okay, sounds fun." Danny agreed. "On one condition: no talking about my career." He was worried that Jack and Maddie may have goaded her into talking him into ghost fighting.

"No problem," Jazz smiled, "Absolutely no career talk over dinner. Nothing, zip, nada."

"I'm gonna duck out of this one." Sam hugged Danny, "I have to write this essay." She was determined to have her voice heard, and prove to Dr. Verlen that the students could handle it.

"Alright," Danny hugged back, "I love you." He said as he let go, she returned the sentiment and rushed off to her dorm.

* * *

At Olive Buffet, Danny and Jazz got dinner and a chance to really reminisce. He felt a sense of relief. A normal conversation with a sibling. No school, no work, and no ghosts. He hasn't had a chance to talk to Jazz like this since before his powers. A nice talk about friends, recent movies, and that time dad ate all the fudge for the schools bake sale.

Jazz was able to get them a secluded table, telling the host they would be discussing confidential medical files. Danny had always loved it here. The food was good, not the best, but the music put him at ease. The murals of the Greek cities were beautiful and helped immerse the customer in the culture. 

Most importantly, he had memories here. This was his mom's favorite restaurant. Every birthday or holiday the Fenton's celebrated was held here. Olive Buffet was basically synonymous with Maddies smile.

"Okay," Jazz pushed her plate out of the way. "Now that dinner is over," she held up her promise, in her own mind, ""If you want to marry Sam, you definitely should, that's your call. But don't base _your_ career on _her_ money."

_Yep. She talked to mom. And dad._ Danny thought. 

"Jazz, you promised." He groaned, planting his head on the table, under his hands.

"I promised not to talk about a career over dinner." She clarified. "Dinner is over. But I feel like you are overthinking everything."

"What do you mean?" He lifted his head and raised his brow.

"Danny Phantom." She smiled. 

Danny looked around, glad they were the only ones in the area. "What about him?"

"There's a _ton_ of Danny Phantom merch out there." Jazz explained. "But you never gave away your likeness rights. All you have to do it claim it and _Ka-Ching!_ And use the profits to fund your research."

"He doesn't have a bank account." Danny reminded her. "There would be no way for him to collect."

"That's pretty obvious, if you think about it." A little condescension lined her voice. "If _Phantom_ were to publicly sign over his likeness rights to _Fenton_ , in exchange for using the profits to fund ghost research and weapons for his partner, then you would get everything. And if some merchants figured it didn't count cuz he's a ghost, publicly shame them and the community will have your back."

She was right about that. The community certainly loved Danny Phantom. And if he asked them to make sure their vendors played by his rules, they would. 

"I don't know…" Danny was hesitant. "It still seems wrong to profit off being a hero."

"You're not charging for heroics." Jazz specified. "Just merchandise. They're spending spending money, either way. You're just taking what you deserve for your image. People shouldn't be allowed to put you on whatever they want and not compensate you."

"I'll think about it." Danny sighed. It was logical. But it felt… off. He always loved seeing the t-shirts and comics he inspired. Wasn't that supposed to be payment enough?

Jazz could see her brother was ethically torn on the issue, "Hey," She stood up and put her hand on his shoulder. "Let's go shopping." She smiled. She wanted to put him in a better mood before the night ended. She put her money on the table, making sure to tip generously, and led him out.

* * *

Hours later, Danny trudged through his dormitory. He needed a night like that. Something that made him feel like a normal person for once. He was even able to forgive Jazz for the brief discussion about his future. 

"About time you got back." Tucker said as Danny got into the dorm. The computer's glow bright against his face. 

Tucker had managed to hack the ghost shield Jack installed, allowing it to exclude Danny's ectoplasmic wavelength. It was a handy trick they figured out in senior year of highschool.

"Yea." Danny sighed. He was exhausted. He fell on his bed, face first onto the pillow. He dropped his shopping bag on the side of the bed. "Jazz took me all over town. We even went bowling." 

He had a good time with his sister, but he suspected the real reason she took him out was to for him to see all Danny Phantom stuff around town. The bowling alley even sold Phantom bowling shirts. 

"You couldn't have invited _me_?" Tucker faked being offended, but he did feel a little left out.

"I'll try to remember next time." Danny chuckled. He looked to his friend, seeing the computer screen, "besides, if I had, you would have missed out on all that Warforge progress." He sat up and squinted at the screen, "Is that an emerald eagle mount?"

"Oh, yeah!" Tucker leaned back, hands behind his head, showing off his latest prize in the multiplayer online game. "The gate to ShadowScape opened tonight."

"Really?" Danny scoffed. He stood up and got closer for a better look . The gate opened randomly once every six months. "But even then…"

"Yep." Tucker cut him off, putting his feet on the desk, "one in twenty six hundred drop rate, and I had to roll against the other members of my raid group for it."

"Part of me really hoped you guys would grow out of this." Sam was leaning in the doorway, watching her boyfriend and his best friend geek out over a virtual mount. She was in a set of black and purple panda pajamas.

"You're into this game _too_." Tucker defended himself, putting his feet back on the ground.

"True." Sam rolled her eyes, walking into the room. "That's why the other part of me wants to see it."

The boys laughed as Sam made her way to the screen. Danny quickly used the distraction to kick his shopping bag under the bed. He didn't want to give her gift in front of anybody.

Sam played around with Tucker's character for a while, admiring all the rare loot he had acquired. She was a better player, but Tuck had better luck with this game. 

"So, uh, Sam…" Danny was happy to see her, but confused. "It's pretty late. What are you doing here?"

Sam turned away from the computer slowly, "Well… actually… I…. Well, funny thing is…" Sam was bright red as she struggled to find the words, "Well, I was really looking forward to living away from our parents."

Tucker and Danny looked at each other in mutual confusion, "And?" They said synchronized.

"Well…" she twiddled her thumbs together, looking away from Danny, "You know, we've been together since we were fourteen…" she paused.

"What are you trying to say?" Danny was worried. She was talking like she was about to break up with him. "Sam," He stood up and grabbed her hands, "I love you."

Hearing that made her calm a bit. She cupped Danny's cheek and smiled as she kissed him. "I love you too." She held her forehead against his. "And that's why I wanna take the next step."

"Whoah!" Tucker interjected, throwing both hands up. "I'm still in the room!"

Sam flipped him off, not looking away from Danny, "Not _that_ step," she laughed, proud of Danny for not bragging to his friend, "We took that step years ago."

"Really?" Tucker was shocked. "And neither of you said anything?"

"It didn't feel right to talk about it." Danny admitted. He took a step back to look in her eyes, "So… what step are you talking about?" 

He felt nervous. His whole family had mentioned marriage today. That couldn't be what she was talking about. Could it?

Sam grabbed both his hands and smiled, wiggling a little in excitement before she said it. "I want to fall asleep and wake up next to you." 

It was stern. And simple. And not break-upy in the least. Danny fell backward onto the bed, laughing harder than he ever had before.

Sam got red in the face again. She balled her fists, "And just _what_ is so funny about that?" She was furious.

"You… you come in…." Danny had to talk between laughs, "You come in… talking about… living …. Independently… and how long," he finally calmed down, able to breathe, "How long we've been together. I thought _for sure_ this was a breakup."

Sam's stern face lasted a few more seconds. She tried to keep it up longer, but she couldn't help but laugh too. "You idiot!" She slapped him, playfully, eventually tackling him on the bed. "I could never leave you! I'm gonna be your forever girl." She stole a phrase from Johnny 13.

Tucker was grossed out by the display, but relieved things didn't go sour. They _were_ his favorite celebrity couple, after all. He sat in his chair and went back to playing his game. 

Danny cuddled Sam and the two watched Tuck play his game. Sam had the biggest smile on her face as she fell asleep grabbing Danny's arm. 

"Oh, you think you're a tough guy." A gruff voice mocked. Sam opened her eyes. Danny was being held down, surrounded by pirates with swords at his throat. When did they get on a ship? And why wasn't Danny transforming?

"That's relative," Danny answered nervously, his eyes were panicked as he scanned his surroundings.

"Stop joking around!" Sam yelled.

"In general, yes," Danny gulped, clearly afraid for his life.

"This isn't funny!" Sam wailed. "Go ghost!" She ordered, knowing Danny should be able to escape this. Was he stalling?

"Right now…" Danny's heart raced as the sword pushed against his throat, "Not so much."

"Danny!" Sam shouted at him, "Phase through it!" Her words couldn't reach him. She couldn't move to save him, either. She was trapped in her own body as she could only watch.

"I'm sorry, captain…" A naval man said to Danny, right before he was executed by the pirates.

_Did he just call Danny Captain?_ Sam thought to herself. _What's going on?_ She looked around, there were at least two dozen men bleeding on the ground in naval garb. And Danny was... the captain?

"Danny!" Sam called out again, tears running down her face, "Get out of there!" Was he not even going to _try_ to go ghost?

"That's all of 'em, Cap'n." A pirate said to his leader, a one eyed pirate with a gilded sword and an intricate red jacket.

The captain smiled as he stepped toward Danny and pulled out his own sword. With every step, crows surrounded Danny more and more. 

"No…" Sam muttered to herself, this couldn't be it. Danny saved the world countless times. He can't go out cornered by pirates!

The captain stepped closer and closer to Danny, each step seemingly slower than the last. Sam struggled to move, to run, to crawl, anything that would get her to him. 

The murder of crows dispersed as the sword went through Danny's heart, blood spewing from his mouth and wound as his body hit the deck. 

She watched his body bounce off the wood, waiting for his eyes to go from blue to green, to show these guys he means business. But they didn't. They just… went dull.

"Danny…?" She quietly muttered to herself. Then it hit her. All the ghost fights, saving the world, his powers, none of it mattered anymore. Danny was dead.

"DANNY!!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Hey!" Tucker threw a pillow at Danny's bed, "I'm _still_ in the room!"

"Sam?" Danny frantically shook his girlfriend awake. "Sam, wake up."

"Da…Danny?" Sam woke up in tears, "Danny!" She hugged him so hard he was worried he may become full ghost. Her continued sobs wouldn't stop.

"Sam," Danny wrapped his arms around her, "It's okay. It was just a dream. I'm here."

"Don't die!" She ordered him, her tears drenching his collar. Her embrace got tighter, "Don't die! You can't!"

Tucker hopped down from his bunk, "Wow," he was flabbergasted. "We fight _ghosts_ all the time, and this _dream_ spooked you? What was it?"

"Don't…." She started hyperventilating, "die…" She kept repeating herself. She was losing color in her face.

"Sam," Danny said sternly, "You know I hate to do this, but you need to breathe." He turned into his ghost form and overshadowed her, possessing her.

"See?" Danny said in Sam's body. "I'm here. I'm alive. Tuckers here. We're still in the dorm." He made sure to take deep breaths in her body, hoping her conscious mind was paying attention to him. 

"Can you tell what freaked her out?" Tucker asked.

"No." Danny let out a long breathe. He could feel the tension in Sam's body, and he didn't know if she could control herself yet. "I can only do that when I overshadow someone who is asleep."

Danny got up and made a cup of Sam's stress reducing tea for her. He looked in the mirror, Sam looked weird with his green eyes, but he certainly didn't mind the form. 

"Sam," he addressed the mirror, "I'm gonna let you out now. I'm sorry I had to that, but I didn't want you to hurt yourself." 

Danny exited her body through the front, ready to catch her if she fell, which she nearly did.

"Thanks," She wiped tears from her face. She picked up her tea, nice and hot, and sat on the bed. "Sorry, guys."

"No need to apologize," Danny sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

"Speak for yourself." Tucker said, "I was having a hot dream." Tucker climbed back into his bunk.

"Ignore him," Danny rolled his eyes. "What happened in your dream?"

"You… died." Sam said, solemnly. She couldn't even look him in the eyes, afraid of seeing the dull blue eyes of her dead lover again.

"Well," Danny squeezed her, "We know that's a risk every time I fight. But I always win." He tried to comfort her. 

"That wasn't it." Sam shook her head. "They weren't ghosts. There was no big battle. You were murdered. By pirates."

"Pirates?" Danny asked. That took a turn. Why would he ever fight pirates? 

"And I was there," Sam said. "I was there, but I wasn't! And I couldn't do anything to help! And there were crows!" She started freaking out again.

"Okay," Danny grabbed her free hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it. "Well, I'm alive. And it'll take a lot more than _pirates_ to kill me."

Sam smiled, looking into his piercing blue eyes, they never failed to make her feel safe. She set her tea down and grabbed his hair, pulling him down for a kiss. 

Danny smiled, happy he was able to calm her down. She pulled him down with her as she lay on the bed, wrapping her arms around him and rolling on top of him. She was trying not to be too obvious, especially with tucker above them. She kissed him more and more passionately, caring less and less about Tuckers presence.

"Ah!" She jumped up, "That's cold!" Danny's ghost sense gave her a brain freeze. She jumped off the bed and grabbed her tea. Hopefully the heat would help.

"I'm going ghost." Danny said, his pajamas turning into the black jumpsuit with the iconic 'D', his hair turned snow white as his eyes glowed green. The image Sam had longed to see in her dream, now horrified her.

"Danny?" She stepped toward him, "This room has a ghost shield now." She pleaded with him, "You don't have to fight! Let's just go back to bed." she grabbed his arm, "Please?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Please, just tonight, please don't go."

Danny looked at her, wrecked with worry. All it would take for her to feel safe is for him to stay, but… 

"I'm sorry, Sam." He kissed her forehead. "They could be hurting someone. I can't just sit around while I could be helping." He phased through her arm and walked away. "Stay here, it's probably just a couple of ecto-puss' anyways."

He flew through the wall and he was gone. Sam stood there for a minute before wiping her face. She went into Danny's closet and pulled out her spare haz-mat suit.

"Danny said to stay here," Tucker interjected, "You aren't in any condition to help him."

She went in the bathroom and changed. When she got out, Tucker was blocking the door to the hall.

"Get out of my way," She ordered. 

"You're not thinking straight!" Tucker told her, spreading both arms across the closed door.

"I'm not gonna sit around and do _NOTHING_ while Danny fights!" Her voice broke. "I can't!"

"Sit. Down." Tucker ordered, calmly.

Sam took a deep breath. "Sorry, Tucker." She smiled. 

Tucker relaxed a little, still standing in front of the door. "It's okay. I get it. You have a right to be worried."

"Hey, you know what's funny about the Ghost Net?" She asked, fooling around with her wrist launcher.

"What?" He raised his brow. If there was a joke with a ghost tool, he would have already thought of it.

She shot the net at her friend, pulling it as it contained him, and throwing him onto the bed.

"It works on humans too!" She said as she ran out the door.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is my first fan-fiction I ever bothered to publish. Please leave some criticism, positive and negative are welcome, as I am always looking to improve my writing.
> 
> I hope to get a chapter up every month, at least, but I do have some health problems and suffer depression so I often lose my spark. Please be patient as I promise I will get back into it if and when this happens.
> 
> Special thanks to u/tmcgh and u/mine811


	2. Birds of a feather

Sam raced out of the building, eyes fixed on the ecto compass in her hand. It was an invention of her own, based on Jack's ecto radar and designed to look like a regular watch for everyone else.

She stopped, briefly, on the lawn. Looking around, there was no sign of Danny anywhere. The sky was clear, with a nearly full, blood red, moon. The wind whipped around her and she couldn't help but think this is actually a perfect night for ghost hunting. 

Where did they go? Danny's ghost sense only went off when ghosts were close, so they couldn't be too far. With her compass leading the way, she started running. Her heart was racing, would Danny be okay? Was her dream prophetic?

She was seriously considering stealing one of the many bikes parked on the university rack when suddenly a glowing figure crashed into the ground, leaving a trail of tossed up dirt. It was wrapped up in a hunting net.

  
  


"You know,'' Danny's white haired head popped out of the newly-formed crater, all the while easily breaking out of the net, "I appreciate the Predator movies less and less every time you show up."

Sam's eyes went wide. She knew who the ghost was. And she knew it was a far more dangerous one than the Box Ghost. So, she turned around, coming face to face with the infamous hunter she knew all too well.

"Your cinematic entertainment does not concern me, Ghost Child," Skulker effortlessly touched the ground and took a step towards the duo. "Ah, your violet rose is joining us tonight." He didn't seem to mean it as an insult, and Sam found herself quite liking the title.

"What are you doing here, Skulker?" Sam asserted herself. "You know we beat your ass every time you challenge us!"

"The challenge adds to the thrill of the hunt," Skulker confessed. He aimed his latest weapon at her, a gun with massive proportions and an antenna on the end. 

As he shot, Sam deployed her Wraith Wrangler from her wrist. It’s design was based off Maddies, but instead of a typical silver whip, it was green with a foot of black on the end, and had barbs with red tips to look like thorns, mimicking a rose’s thorns. She liked a botanical look for her weapons.

And it could do more than just look pretty, too. It easily intercepted the bolt from Skulkers blaster and with a flick of her wrist, the black end of her whip expanded to reveal six sheets of metal unfolding and giving it the appearance of an ominous black rose. Each petal was sharp enough to cut steel.

"And your skill adds to your value." Skulker explained. "But to be completely honest, neither is the reason I hunt the halfling tonight."

He fired another bolt, and Sam intercepted it once more. The bloom of her whip blocked her sight for a fraction of a second, but that was more than enough. Skulker was gone. 

"Agh!" Danny exclaimed as he tackled the hunter who had re-appeared right behind Sam. Skulkers jet pack kept him from hitting the ground as he and Danny were now wildly flying through the air.

Danny didn't care enough to ask about Skulkers remark. Why bother? It was always the same anyways. Something something prize something collection, hunt, prey and lord knows what else. Danny had stopped listening a long time ago.

To Sam it looked as though the two were aimlessly soaring through the air but soon enough, the hunter had been smashed into the ground, leaving metal parts to go flying everywhere and effectively trapping him in his own body.

Floating a few centimeters above him, Danny pulled out his Fenton thermos.

"No!", Sam stopped him. "Let him talk." She turned to Skulker, "Why are you here?"

"Fine", Skulker glared. "Rumor has it, a powerful treasure hunter is in his way to your world. And there is no way I will give him any chance to take away _my_ prey."

A blinking on Sam's wrist caught her eyes. Her radar was pointing out a ghost next to her, instead of the one right in front of her. What in the-?

"Are you _serious_?!?", Danny shouted. "This guy probably isn't even after me, but just in case, you decide to show up and ruin my night _again_? You didn't even have a plan this time, Skulker!"

"Uh, Danny-"

"Seriously, dude, your obsession is going way too far!"

"Danny, there's something on my-"

"Perhaps", Skulker smiled, "Or perhaps you just lack conviction." 

Danny opened the thermos. Its light was way too bright for him to see the hunter's eyes turn red as he was being pulled into the thermos.

"No!" Sam's whip hit it just in time. Skulker's armor exploded, forcing itself into the form of a cage and destroying the thermos and the bloom of the whip. 

Danny managed to grab Sam and have them both turn intangible before any debris could hurt them.

"Thanks." Danny murmured as he turned them back to normal. He looked over the cage, currently glowing with ecto-energy. "That was a close one. I guess he did have a plan after all."

"I will always have a plan," Skulker flew down from a tree, he had been watching the whole time. He had a headset on and some sort of exoskeleton. Probably how he was controlling the decoy, "Your mates perception is impressive, but I will have your hide on my mantle."”

Danny took a battle stance once more, but Skulker phased into the ground to retreat until the next battle.

With the threat of Skulker gone, Sam's adrenaline went away. Her knees started to tremble and she fell into Danny's arms as he caught her.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked, trying his best to stabilize her.

"You… ASS!" She stood on her own and started slapping the ghost boy. "I told you to ignore it tonight!" Her arms were weak but she kept slapping him through her tears. 

"What if someone had gotten hurt because I ignored it?" Danny rebutted, "You told me before, you love me because I'm not the guy who sits and waits for someone else to do something."

"It was just Skulker!" She shouted in her rage. "He's not interested in hurting people! He just wants you!"

"I couldn't have known who it was!" Danny defended himself, "Calm down." He took a breath, trying to alleviate the situation. "Let's go back to bed."

He tried to grab her arm, but she swatted him away. "No. Go back yourself. I'm going back to my dorm." She walked away.

"Sam, come on." Danny groaned, "Sam!" She continued to ignore him, the way she felt he ignored her earlier. He decided it may be best to leave her alone. He flew back, watching her walk, before tearing himself away.

Sam headed back to her dorm. She made it to the entrance before realizing she was still in her jumpsuit. She glanced at her radar, looking around for cameras trying to appear as if she was hunting a ghost.

"Ugh!" She exclaimed. Two cameras. One looking right at her, the other monitoring the entrance. She grabbed a random weapon off her belt and started running around the building. Once she was sure she was out of view of the surveillance devices, she ducked behind some bushes and took off her spandex, leaving her in nothing but black undershorts and a sports bra. She wrapped the uniform into the shape of a bag and put her equipment in it. 

Now she just had to get inside without being seen. She avoided cameras long enough to find her room. Third window, second story. The dark purple curtains made it very easy to identify. The girls below her were up, but seemed to be distracted. 

She found a nearby tree and ran up, grabbing the first branch she could reach. She climbed up toward the second story, but once she found a branch she could walk out on, she noticed it would only take her to the room next to hers. She ran out and jumped to the window sill, her body hit the wall as she grabbed the ledge.

"What was that?" A girl in the room asked.

"What was what?" Her roommate asked, apparently having missed the thud on the other side of her window.

"You didn't hear that?" The first girl asked, shocked that her friend was so oblivious.

By the time the girl made it to the window to check what was going on, Sam had managed to swing over to her own window. She was struggling to push the window open from underneath with one hand. She got three good shoves in before it seemed to open on its own and the curtain got shoved to the side.

A pale girl peered out the window. Her purple hair framed her unamused expression. She watched the young woman struggle to climb in in her underwear. She rolled her eyes and offered her hand to help pull her up.

Sam grunted as she finally made it inside. She looked around, there were a few new objects of interest in her room. Thankfully it all seemed dark and complimented her own style.

"So, I guess you're my new roommate." The mysterious girl Sat on her bed, "I hope this sneaking in and out thing isn't going to be a habit." 

"What?" The question caught Sam by surprise, "Oh, no! Sorry, I just had a fight with my boyfriend. I hope I didn't wake you." She put her 'bag' under her bed and sat to face her new acquaintance.

"I was just meditating," she said plainly, "I… don't need a lot of sleep. I hope your fight wasn't too serious."

Sam got tense again, ”Nothing too bad, just him being an ass and not caring about my feelings at all," she scoffed and looked away. 

"Come on," the girl chuckled, "I'm sure it's not as simple as that," She leaned onto her side and grabbed her water off the bedside table, right next to a statue of a raven on a skull. The table itself was covered in a black cloth covered in, what looked like, ancient runes. Sam noticed a lot of this girl's decor was not only goth, but seemed to revolve around ravens.

"Big Poe fan, huh?" Sam asked, attempting to change the subject and get to know her.

"No," She replied, "Well, yes, but that's not why I have ravens. It's…" she thought for a moment, "It's my spirit animal. I'm Rachel, by the way. Rachel Roth."

"Sam Manson," She introduced herself, hoping the subject was successfully changed. "I don't know my spirit animal," She chuckled.

"Don't try to change the subject," Rachel said sternly. "I'm an empath, you can trust me." 

Rachel switched beds and put her hand on Sam's shoulder, and as soon as she did, Sam felt that she could trust this girl. Though, everyone she had ever met before who claimed to be an empath was really just crazy.

"I was sleeping there tonight," Sam started her confession, "And I had a dream that Danny was being murdered right in front of me. It was… so real, so horrifying I woke up screaming and crying."

Rachel nodded her head and squeezed Sam's shoulder, making the goth girl feel secure in an unexpected way. Sam told her the story, substituting the ghost part for a family emergency.

"I begged him not to go, told him I couldn't handle it!" Sam got frustrated once more, "His dad always triggers the alarm by accident and it probably wasn't serious." She couldn't think of a better substitution than an alarm at Fenton Works.

"Well," Rachel prodded for more, "Was it an emergency?"

"Not really." Sam looked away, "It was definitely something that could have waited till morning."

Sam started to feel embarrassed, but Rachel massaged her shoulder and that embarrassment turned into humility.

"I know how it sounds." Sam said, staring at her feet, "He couldn't have known it wouldn't be an emergency. And if it had been and I kept him away, I would never forgive myself."

Someone knocked on the door and both girls jumped, though Sam recognized the beat. 

"You're really good at listening," Sam smiled at her as she stood up to get the door. "Most _'empaths'_ try to tell me how to feel or what to think."

"Most 'empaths' think that just because they sympathize, they're an empath." Rachel smiled, "Should you be getting the door dressed like that?" She pointed to Sam's outfit. Or lack of one.

"It's just Danny." Sam reassured her, she opened the door and there was no one there. But there was a bag on the floor. 

"Gone already?" Rachel questioned, "How did he get past security?"

Sam brought the bag in, "He's good at that." She smirked, looking toward the door. She opened the bag, it had her pajamas, her phone, chocolates and a note reading 'Sorry I was an idiot.'

"Apology chocolates?" Rachel scoffed, "Oh, he's a keeper."

"I shouldn't be mad at him," Sam held the bag closer, "Should I?"

"I'm not gonna tell you how to feel." Rachel said, "You are always entitled to your emotions."

Sam grabbed her phone, she swallowed her pride and sent a text to her boyfriend. 

_You're not an idiot. I'm sorry. You were right. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if someone got hurt because I held you back._

It wasn't long before she got a response.

_Do you want me to pick you up? You can still wake up with me in the morning._

Sam looked at her new roommate, who was eyeing the chocolates like a demon. It made her laugh a little.

_Not tonigh5. I'm getting to know my new roomie. Her name's Rachel._

_Tonight.*_

She sat down beside her new friend and opened the chocolates. The two spent some time getting to know each other, talking about movies, books, poems, and boys.

"And Jason Mamoa!" Rachel gushed, "They could make a 2 hour movie of him just riding a shark and I would watch it."

Sam couldn't respond. She was frozen in fear by the crow now perched on the windowsill. It was facing the yard, it looked like it was searching for something. 

Rachel picked up on it, she followed Sam's gaze to the window. She stood up and locked the window and shut the curtain. 

"Crows were part of the nightmare, I take it?" Rachel grabbed Sam's hand, reassuring her once more.

"Are crows nocturnal?" Sam started panicking, "Shouldn't it be sleeping somewhere? Like it's nest, or a gutter?"

"Sam," Rachel gripped tighter, "It's a bird. They often keep irregular hours when they have to feed their chicks." Her voice was stern, but smooth and calming. 

Sam gulped, swallowing her anxiety, "Thanks."

The next morning, Sam took Rachel to Veggie King to meet up with Danny and Tucker for lunch.

"Hey, Danny!" Sam called out, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her faster. 

"Sorry," Rachel apologized to the people Sam was rushing past, "She's a bit excitable."

"Sam," Danny smiled as he hugged her, "This Rachel?" 

"Well, hello there," Tucker grabbed Rachel's hand from Sam's. "Tucker Foley," He kissed her hand like in one of those old movies.

"Rachel," she rolled her eyes and pulled her hand back. "Sam warned me about you."

"That I'm charmingly irresistible?"

"More like, that you _think_ you are." Rachel ran her finger through her hair as she spoke.

"Okay, ouch." Tucker pouted as his friends laughed, "I'll just have to prove it. Let me take you out for lunch?" He held out his arm for her to take.

Rachel just rolled her eyes again and smiled, "Well, I won't say no to free food." She grabbed Tuckers arm and went into the restaurant with him.

"A woman after my own heart," Tucker held his head high, giving a victory nod to Danny before the door closed.

Sam grabbed Danny's arm, a bit relieved that Tucker and Rachel are getting along. Her stomach rumbled, prompting her to pull Danny into the restaurant.

"Two very berry salads, please." She ordered for Danny as well. 

"And strawberry banana smoothie, please." Danny added. 

The two got their food and met back up with Tucker and Rachel, who both ordered chicken based meals. Sam sighed in disappointment, but at least the chicken sold here was from a humane farm. She sat next to Rachel in the booth.

"Something wrong?" Rachel asked, noting her friends frown.

"Nothing." Sam smiled, "I was just hoping we would all share a vegetarian meal."

"It's an accomplishment just to get Tuck away from Nasty Burger." Danny said, encouraging her, "Take your wins where you can. Remember, in high school he wouldn't even eat vegetables. Now he's got a salad."

"True." Tucker backed him up, "Sure, it's got chicken, and is covered in chipotle sauce, but it's got vegetables!"

Rachel laughed, "I'm sorry, Sam. I'll do a weekly vegetarian day with you. Sound good?"

"Really?" Sam beamed, no one had ever offered that, "I would love that!"

The group sat in the restaurant for a little over an hour, discussing politics, movies, super heroes.

"You don't believe in ghosts?" Tucker guffawed at their new acquaintance. "Do you live in Amity Park? They're a pretty well known fact here."

"I didn't say that." Rachel defended herself, "I only said I don't believe Danny Phantom is a ghost." 

"Interesting," Danny was a little nervous. She was pretty confident about this, would it be dangerous to get close to her? "Why… uh… what makes you think that?"

"A few things," She took a drink of her soda, and even Sam was nervous at this point. She hoped she masked her story well enough last night, "The first hint is the name."

_Shit!_ Danny thought to himself. Phantom and Fenton. At the time he thought it was clever, but as he grew older he became more and more fearful that it was too obvious.

"What about the name?" Tucker asked. 

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Rachel asked, "All the other ghosts reported in the area have names like 'Technus' and "Skulker'. Admittedly, 'Desiree' is a real name, but it was a pun on desire, since she granted wishes."

Wow. This girl had done her homework.

"Even 'Box Ghost' is a real ghost," She went on, "But this ghost is the only one who legitimately has a normal name; Danny."

"Okay, that's a bit weird," Sam chuckled nervously, but tried to discredit the theory before she spent too much time on the name. "But that's not really enough to base a theory on."

"I know," Rachel sighed, "But, do you guys remember about 20 years ago when that baby was born in China? The glowing one?"

The restaurant was getting crowded, so Sam motioned for the group to get up and continue this on the go.

"In Qing Qing?" Tucker specified, "Yea. After he was born, super heroes started popping up."

"Yea." Rachel enthusiastically went on. "The teen titans in Jump City. The Flash in Central City, that new guy in London, The Ice Man."

"He has to work on that name," Tucker laughed in disapproval.

"What does this have to do with Danny, though?" Sam asked, forgetting to specify.

"Nothing," Rachel confessed, "Not directly. But it made me question him. Why is there only one ghosts protecting people from other ghosts? It seemed like he had a personal stake. So I studied him."

Danny grabbed Sam's hand and started squeezing. He was scared she was gonna figure it out. Sam mouthed silently to him 'relax. She doesn't know.'

"I find it interesting that every other ghost sighted either has blue or green skin," Rachel continued, "Danny Phantom still has human colored skin." 

"Well, you're starting to convince me," Tucker said, hoping the conversation would change. He knew how uncomfortable Danny had to be right now. 

"Well, there's one more thing," Rachel said, "The first four years, Danny Phantoms appearances were often at Casper High during school hours."

"Just four years?" Sam asked, "So you think he was a student?" Now it might be time to freak out. It wouldn't be hard to narrow it down once you got into the school. 

"I do," Rachel confirmed their worst fears. Now they had to pray she could keep a secret once she found out. "But I'm not gonna dig any deeper than that."

"Why not?" Sam spoke up, if she had gotten this close, why would she give up? "You went through all that work to find out he isn't a ghost. Wouldn't finding his identity cement your theory?"

"I already know he isn't a ghost. I don't need to prove it to myself or anyone else, and whoever he is, he deserves his privacy."

Rachel felt the tension of the group relax as she spoke. This group had a secret. Maybe they knew who he was. Maybe he was one of them.

"That's oddly mature," Danny noted. "So you think Phantom is somehow tied to the glowing baby?"

"Maybe. I'm sure there are some isolated incidents. Modern technology is bound to have some side effects, after all, but so many are being born with special abilities that I think something in the atmosphere is causing mass mutations."

The four found themselves in the park. A teenage girl had set up a small area to play guitar and was drawing quite a crowd. Danny and Rachel couldn't see the appeal, but Sam and Tucker raced to join the audience, successfully ending the group conversation.

_Fading embers_

_When the light is gone_

_Fading embers_

_Are all that will_

_Remain_

It wasn't exactly bad, but Danny didn't see anything special about it. Well, _hear_ anything special about it.

"Wow," Sam was almost crying. "Danny, this is speaking to my soul."

Danny looked at the musician. Her blue hair seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite recognize her.

_But you better watch that ember_

_It will regain its light_

_That fading ember_

_It will ignite the sky!_

_"_ Speaking to your soul?" Danny raised his eyebrow, "This?"

_You all thought_

_This fading ember_

_Would just smolder away_

_But this ember will live on_

_To burn another day_

The musician looked up from her guitar and realized she had drawn a crowd. She packed up her stuff and started to rush off.

"Wait a minute," Sam reached out to her, "That was great! Who are you?"

"I'm…" she was reluctant, "I'm nobody." She clutched her stuff a little tighter and looked away.

Now that he got a better look at her, Danny knew he had seen her before. But he still couldn't place it. She was cute though, she had a round face and emerald eyes.

"Don't say that," Danny stepped up, "You were… good." Danny didn't like the music, but anyone who could draw a crowd like that had to have some talent, right?

The girl smiled and looked back at the group. Her eyes shot to Danny and Sam's hands intertwined, "It's nice to see I did something good."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, this girl seemed very depressed.

A very faint chill escaped Danny's mouth, he looked around for any ghosts but knew he couldn't run off for no reason. His ghost sense had never been this weak before.

"I'll bounce back," the girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "That's what the song was about."

"So what was the good thing you did?" Rachel cocked an eyebrow at her.

"My music," She lied. "I have to get going." She clutched her guitar and ran away. 

"There's something about her…" Danny muttered.

"She's too young for you, Danny," Tucker quipped, for which Sam smacked him over the head. 

The group turned back around towards the university. Danny and Rachel both noticed that the crowd that had been surrounding the young woman were now all significantly more lethargic. People of all ages seemed to be giving in to depression at once.

"That's… strange, right?" Rachel asked, being pretty new to Amity, she didn't want to make any assumptions.

"Yea, all these people were just pretty happy." Danny clarified. 

"Let's just get back to school," Sam trudged through the group and Tucker followed, their shoulders were slumped and their enthusiasm had disappeared. 

It was so quiet on the way back, Danny was almost glad Sam wanted to go back to her dorm alone. Rachel went to class, it was good getting to know her but he wished they hadn’t ended things so awkwardly before saying goodbye.

Danny and Tucker went into their dorm, and instead of getting on the computer or booting up the Game Box, Tucker fell into bed. Not even his bed, which he fought so hard for. Danny's bed. The bottom bunk.

"Now I know something is up," Danny muttered. He triggered his transformation and flew away. He went back to the park and searched for that girl.

After a few hours, Danny was ready to give up, he needed to get ready for his philosophy lecture. He was almost halfway back when he heard a familiar song. It was much softer than he remembered though. A lot slower.

"My life, a losing game. 

But you should, you should not doubt me" 

She sang out, it sounded like she was crying. Danny followed the sound under a bridge. 

"You will remember my name

Oh, Ember, you will remember

Ember, one thing remains

Oh, Ember, so warm and tender

You will remember my name

"You know," Danny flew down and stepped on the ground, "I actually like this version better. It feels more down to earth."

"Thanks for the input," Ember huffed and looked away, "Just go away, Danny. I'm not hurting anyone." She crossed her arms and stared out over the quarry. 

This was another enemy Danny hadn't seen in years, but he didn't expect the reunion to be like this. Ember seemed… vulnerable. Her sorrow filled the air around them.

"I guess you aren't doing it on purpose then," Danny went to stand beside her, "but I can't just go away."

"What am I not doing on purpose?" Tears welled up, "How am I fucking up now?"

"Whoaa!" Danny exclaimed, he definitely was not expecting this, "It's okay, nothing too serious. Not like last time where all your listeners were raising Caine."

"Danny!" She shouted as her tears escaped up her eyes, "Tell me!" She pumped her fists down to her side, but she still didn't seem threatening. 

"Your song in the park," Danny specified, "All the people you drew in. They're all depressed."

Ember took a deep breath before grabbing her guitar. She looked at it for a few seconds, Danny didn't know if he should get ready to defend himself or not, but before he could decide she started smashing her instrument into the ground, screaming like a banshee. Danny had to go intangible to not get hit by the debris.

She panted over the pile of wood, now holding just a guitar neck with some strings. She threw the rest into the quarry and wailed as loudly as she could, falling to her knees and sobbing.

Danny knew he didn't have a lot of time, but he couldn't just leave her here. He duplicated himself and sent the copy to class. 

"Do you, maybe, wanna tell me what's going on?" He knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned and latched onto him with both arms, sobbing into his chest.

"When you curse me, you really know how to curse me," she mumbled.

"I cursed you?" He awkwardly hugged her, hoping Sam wouldn't be upset with him.

"Not you," She laughed a little, "Sorry, I was talking to myself." She let go of Danny and sat back, wiping the tears from her face. "I shouldn't bother you with this. You can go now, I won't cause anymore problems."

"You can talk to me," Danny grabbed her shoulder again, "I know we don't have the best history, but I want to help you if I can."

"Seriously?" She scoffed, dropping her jaw and bringing her hand to her chest in an over dramatic manner. He didn't know she had a playful side. "You want to help _me?_ "

"Well, yea. As long as you don't wanna hurt anyone."

"I think…" She stifled a sob and wiped another tear, "I think I'm done with that."

"So what's wrong? Does it have anything to do with why you look human?"

She laughed a little bit before answering, "I _am_ human. I was involved in a plot with Walker and Desiree. We had a falling out, you know how Walker is with rules. And how I am with authority," She chuckled once more.

"Anyways, we got into it and he decided I needed to be punished. He wished for me to be human so I could feel shame for my actions."

"So Desiree made you human," Danny was slack jawed. They turned her into a compassionate human. 

"I've been living with the guilt for six months," She sighed and crawled closer to the wall, "Everything I've done to you and your friends. The people of this town. I had my music though, they could take my power but I they couldn't take my spirit. I didn't realize I still had some remnants of power left. I could still hurt people."

"They'll be alright," Danny followed her to the wall and sat next to her, "Just a bit of lethargy. If it's like before, it should wear off when they hear something unpleasant."

"Like your friends singing?" She cocked an eyebrow. Of course, Danny couldn't help but remember when Tucker was on stage at Embers concert.

"He's so bad," They laughed together for a bit. "So, what was the good thing you said you did?"

"It was a long time ago," she picked up a rock and skipped it into the quarry, "And it was just to distract you."

"Wait a minute," Danny shook his head, "The love spell? Sam broke that."

"Did she?" Ember queried, "That's not how I remember it."

Danny tried his best to remember.

" _If I can't break the spell, then I have to break your heart!" Sam declared before breaking free to kiss Dash._

_And it worked. Danny watched the girl he had been cursed to covet kiss his enemy. He was filled with rage, but knew he had a job to do._

"I mean… I never stopped having feelings for her after that day," Danny felt like his whole world had been toppled. "Has it all been a lie?"

"Danny, no!" Ember grabbed his hand, "Look, even if my spell caused it, you guys are happy. That's real. And maybe my spell wore off when you sent me to the ghost zone. Don't overthink this!"

  
  


He tried to push it out of his mind, spending the next few hours discussing her situation. He was a hero, after all. His job was to help people, and sometimes that just means talking to someone going through a hard time.

He gave her another hug before departing, uncertain what to make of everything she had told him. He and Sam were happy together. That should matter more than what caused them to get together, right?

He flew back to the university, thinking by now Sam and Rachel should be leaving their shared calculus class and meeting up with him. Just as he entered the building, phasing through the wall invisibly, he saw his ecto-clone walk out of class and get greeted by the two. 

Sam seemed to already be recovering from Embers accident. He waited for them to walk away from the crowd, they were gonna be going to Danny's dorm to watch Avengers: Endgame.

"Excuse me, citizens!" Danny shouted at the trio in his superhero voice, "I'm searching for a lost ghost dog. Did he run by here by any chance?"

He had to make sure Rachel saw him and his clone at the same time, to make sure she didn't figure out his identity.

"No, Danny," Sam rolled her eyes. She always hated this over the top superhero bit. Though, it was kind of cute, "But I think I might have heard someone say something about it being in the library?"

"You did?" Rachel cocked an eyebrow, she hadn't heard anything. And she thought herself quite perceptive.

"Off I go!" Danny flew towards the library just far enough to be out of view before changing direction. He phased through all the walls in his way and went into his bathroom, waiting for his clone to rejoin him.

After a few minutes, he entered his room, seeing Sam on the bed and Rachel on the chair. Danny grabbed the controller and got the movie started. He cuddled under the blanket with Sam, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hands over the covers, you two!" Rachel teased them, both of them chuckled and complied, "That's better."

Once she was looking away, Danny used his ghostly abilities to grow another set of arms under the blanket and grab Sam's breasts, under the shirt.

Caught by surprise, Sam's jaw dropped and she playfully smacked Danny's extra hands from above the blanket. Of course, she wouldn't let him move them either. She liked this slightly rebellious side Danny had.

It didn't take long for the distraction of the movie to wear off. Here he was with Sam, holding her as a lover would. As if they were truly meant to be. He wanted to tell her.

But what if she thought they needed to test it? What if she wanted to try to find real love with someone else? 

"Danny?" Sam broke his train of thought. He realized he had been tensing up, gripping her tighter and tighter, "Are you okay?"

"Yea," Danny shook his head, bringing him back to the present, "I just… always think it should have been Clint, ya know?"

Sam squeezed his arms, "Yea, Black Widow was definitely the wrong one," she knew something was up, but he would tell her when he was ready.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks to u/mine811 for helping me with editing and being there to help me decide what direction to take this.
> 
> Also, Sarah Femboy for encouraging me when i start to doubt mysel


	3. Hello, there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Sam tackle a harsh truth, but there's never time to deal with things rationally, is there?

Sam: Seriously? Again?

Danny had just texted Sam that he couldn't see her today, because his dad needed his help in the lab. It was a lie, but he couldn't look at her anymore without wondering how she would react if she knew the truth.

Danny: Sorry, he's not doing well. I think he and mom may be fighting.

And the lies deepen. How long could he keep this up? He could tell she was already getting suspicious.

Sam: Ok. Tell him I said hi.

He tossed his phone down. He felt terrible. He had never lied to Sam before, at least, not like this. Never about anything that mattered. 

"Dude," Tucker swiveled around from the computer, "Are you ever gonna talk to me?"

"What are you talking about?" Danny didn't recall ignoring his best friend at all.

"What's wrong with you?" He exclaimed, "It's been almost two weeks. You don't talk, or engage; You're constantly lost in thought, and why haven't you been bringing Sam over?"

"Sorry," Danny huffed as he sat up, "I'm going through something right now. I don't know how to talk about it yet."

"I get it, Danny," Tucker sighed, "But we're worried about you. We can tell something's not right."

  
  


“It's just…" Danny trailed off and was saved by his phone ringing from where he’d dropped it. "Hard to be around Sam right now, okay?"

He picked up his phone and checked his latest text. It didn't make him feel any better.

Sam: I love you

He knew she could feel something was up, and she was trying to help, but this just made it harder.

Danny: I love you too

He couldn't leave it on 'read' without making things worse for her, but he felt guilty sending it.

"Just, for now, tell Sam I'm helping my dad, okay?" Danny pleaded.

Tucker was even more worried, but he had to have his best friend's back. If he's just asking for space, there's no real harm, right? He grabbed his bag and went to meet Sam and Rachel sans Danny.

Meanwhile, Danny took off toward Fentonworks. He was free to fly in, as Jack and Maddie had started going hiking on the weekends. It had been helping Jack lose weight and Maddie couldn't be happier about it.

Danny went down to the lab and turned on the news while he worked on his latest project. It was a nice distraction, able to get his mind off his troubles, though he was getting a little concerned about these pirate attacks on the news.

"Day 10 of Pirate Watch," The dark haired news man stated, "The pirates of unknown origin have been sacking the east coast for over a week now. They've managed to elude law enforcement agencies from Miami Police Department to the FBI."

It was weird, to Danny at least, that the pirates were dressed like they were from the 1600's. Their ship could also stand to be updated, though the details on the carving was impressive.

"That should just about do it," Danny wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead, leaving a streak of grease, "Hopefully this makes things a little better for her."

Danny grabbed the invention and flew off. It didn't take long to find her, she didn't have too many hang outs. He flew down and landed in front of the girl.

"Danny?" Ember said with a smirk, happy to see her former foe, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, what can I say, except 'you're welcome'," Danny laughed. Maybe he had been watching too many disney movies.

"For?"

Danny handed her his invention. A Fenton Works Guitar. It was silver with green accents and a blue flame on the bottom.

"Danny," she stepped away from it, reluctantly, "You know I can't."

"No," he smiled, clearly proud of himself, "It's an ecto converter. I took my dads old design and applied it to a guitar. Any ecto energy you give off will be stored up and used to power a bass, or you can plug a phone into these USB ports."

"You mean," She put her hands on the guitar, feeling the smooth body of her new instrument, "I won't hurt anyone if I play?"

"No more than normal mu…" He was cut off as she threw herself around him in a hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" He expected a good reaction, but this was a bit much. He hadn't realized how important music was to her.

"You're welcome," He struggled to say, "Do you mind if we go somewhere to talk?"

She grabbed her new guitar and strapped it to her back, it felt so good to have it there. She had been feeling like a part of her body was missing. The two walked toward a picnic table, away from people. Danny wondered why nobody was trying to come up to them. Normally in his Phantom form people couldn't contain themselves. Now they're leaving him alone, but still staring.

"Sooo…" Ember drummed on the table, "What's up? Too much to ask you just came by for the guitar, huh?"

"Sorry," He looked away, ashamed, "I just, I know you said not to worry about it, and you're probably right, but I can't stop thinking about that love spell."

"I can't help you, Danny," Ember sighed, "I never cared enough to see how long my spells lasted. I'd go in, fuck some shit up, and leave."

"Yea, I know. I just… I mean, can't you cancel it?"

"I'm not a ghost anymore," she grabbed his hands from across the table, "I don't have my powers. Just a little… quirk."

She could influence the emotions of a crowd through her music, and she was calling it a quirk? Well, after the amount of power she had before, it made sense, he supposed.

She could see the disappointment in his eyes. This had clearly been driving him mad. She took a deep breath and squeezed his hands.

"Okay, close your eyes," she waited for him to comply, "Deep breath in. Don't raise your eyebrow at me, just do it. Look in your heart. And now… Tell me who you love!" She did her best impression of her ghost self.

"Sam," Danny answered without hesitation. "Of course, Sam, but that's not my problem."

"It doesn't matter," She replied sternly, "That was an honest answer. No stalling, or second guessing. Your love is real. There's no point in asking why it's there."

There seemed to be several moments of silence as Danny processed what she was saying.

"You're right," Danny let out a sigh of relief, "Of course you're right. If it's not broke, don't fix it."

He hung out with her only a little longer, until Danny's ghost sense went off and he had to go protect the town. Thankfully it was just a couple of ecto-pi, and he was able to return to his dorm quickly.

Of course, it couldn't be that simple. By the next day his mind had returned once more to the spell and he still couldn't look Sam in the eye. He hadn't even given her his gift yet; he didn't know if it could still mean the same thing. A symbol of his love for her, or another token of a ghost’s curse?

Danny did his best to act normal, but Sam knew something was wrong. He talked less, avoided looking at her, and always found an excuse to leave when they were hanging out.

"Danny!" Sam shouted, slamming the door she hid behind. She had been waiting for him to come into his dorm, "I knew it! You're not with your sister!"

"What?" Danny panicked, looking around the room, "No, I just forgot… this!" He grabbed Tuckers spare Game Box controller.

"To hang out… with Jazz?"

Danny knew he was on thin ice, but he still couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. The lying was hurting them now, but surely it had to be better than telling her their love might be fake.

"Yea, she's trying new ways to relax."

"Danny, I talked to Jazz!" Sam stomped, she couldn't understand why he had been avoiding her, or why he would lie, "I know she's working. What's going on?"

"Sam, I…" he went to place a hand on her but she stepped away, tears building up in her eyes, but she refused to blink.

"Who is she, Danny?" Her voice was weak. 

"What?" Okay, this was worse than he expected.

"I know you would never cheat on me," Sam explained, "At least, I think I do. When I first saw it, I was so proud of you. Using your hero identity to help someone with depression."

"Saw what?" 

Sam pulled out her phone. It already had a video loaded up. It was a video of Danny and Ember. Her face was blurred out, but it was about how Danny took a break from patrolling to help a teenage girl crying under a bridge. 

"You won't even look at me since that day," Sam's voice cracked and the tears fell from her face like a dam had broken. Danny really hadn't thought about how much the distance would hurt Sam, "And yesterday you gave her a new guitar, when you told me you would be with your dad? She's holding your hands and hugging you?"

"So who is she? Was Tucker wrong, is she older than she looks or are you…" she couldn't finish the thought. She didn't want to accuse Danny of anything she would regret.

"She's older than she looks," Danny started.

"That is **_NOT_ **what you should be saying, Danny!" She started shouting.

"Sam," Danny smacked his head, wondering how he could be so bad at this, "I'm not doing anything with her."

"Don't lie to me, Danny!"

"It's the truth!" This was it. He had to tell her to keep her, "That girl…. That girl is Ember."

He sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. Sam took a minute to process it. She knew, or thought she knew, Danny would never cheat on her. Especially with someone like Ember. She took a breath and composed herself before sitting on the bed with him, leaving some space between them.

"I'm listening. But, Danny, don't you fucking lie to me."

Danny proceeded to tell Sam about Ember and her situation with Walker and Desiree, and the revelation that Sam may not have broken Embers spell. He added how Ember took pride in putting them together, so she wouldn't be a part of an affair anyways. He talked about how he wanted to tell her, but was afraid of what she would say. He even added the thought that avoiding it kept it from becoming ‘real’. No matter what he said, Sam wouldn’t react.

"I built her a guitar she can play without hurting people," Danny summarized, "It helped keep my mind off everything, but I promise you, there's nothing going on between me and her."

Sam was quiet. He was afraid to say anything more, to ask her what she felt or thought about anything. Her fists were balled so tight her knuckles had turned white.

"You really are an ass," She finally spoke. 

"No, it's the truth!" Danny panicked. She didn't believe him.

"No! You're an asshole, Danny!" Sam stood up and started pacing the room, "We're supposed to be partners! Not just in ghost fighting, but in life! And you… You decided to keep this secret from me?!?! To carry this burden on your own?!?!"

"Sam, I know, but I…"

"No! No 'buts', Danny! You were scared. I get it. If I had been the one to learn it, I would have been scared too. But I love you. And I would trust you to react rationally!" She kept pacing, shaking her hands, hoping to alleviate the frustration. She needed an outlet.

"I know," he was more and more ashamed, "I love you too. But I don't know what to do about this."

"This," She threw herself at him and knocked them both onto the bed. Danny certainly wasn't about to argue, but he was confused how they could go from arguing to… well… sex in such a short time. 

After a little over two hours, the two collapsed on the bed. Sweaty and out of breath, they just stared at each other, smiling. Sam mouthed out the words 'I love you' and Danny pulled her in to kiss her forehead. A sense of relief washed over him as it finally dawned on him, she was staying. She wasn't mad or upset or even depressed about the spell. Maybe they really could just live with it.

"And it would really help the city," Tucker said as he opened the door, But Rachel was the first one to see.

"Whoah!" She covered his eyes before he turned to look in the room, "This is college, guys. Sock on the door, that's like a rule."

"Sorry," Danny chuckled and pulled the blankets over them, "Can we get a moment?"

"Wait," Tucker took a moment to realize what was going on, "I don't get to see? What a gyp!"

"Sorry, Tuck," Sam scoffed, "Danny's eyes only."

  
  


"Come on," Rachel grabbed Tucker by the hand and pulled him out, "We'll give you guys a minute."

"It's not fair!" Tucker could be heard as the door shut. Danny laughed and climbed out of the bed to grab their clothes. He grabbed his own clothes first and held on to Sam's. He watched as she waited for him to hand them over.

"Seriously?" Her eyes rolled so hard he could almost hear them, "Come on, Danny. They're waiting for us."

"They can wait a little longer," he took a few more seconds to take in the view. She eventually got up and ripped the clothes out of his hands. She was flattered, but he could be so frustrating sometimes. 

"Come on in!" Sam shouted once she got her top on. She wondered exactly how much Rachel saw, or if she even attempted to look away.

"Glad to see you two are getting along," Tucker said with a grin as he came back in.

"Technically," Rachel corrected, "You didn't get to see that part. Such a shame too. It was a nice sight."

"Yea, yea," Tucker waved it off, clearly over it. Or at least pretending to be, "Wait, you mean Danny was nice, or Sam?" Part of him wanted her to be talking about Sam, because that would be hot, but it would mean she was into women. And last time he checked, he wasn't a woman.

She bounced her eyebrows at him and walked by, "So, Tucker and I are going to the mall to buy some stuff for Halloween. You guys wanna come?"

"Can we meet you there?" Sam asked, "We're not exactly ready to go out."

"When I met you, you were scaling the building in your underwear," Rachel pointed out, "Now you can't go out cuz you don't have a bra on? Okay, we'll meet you there."

"It was dark when that happened!" Sam called out, but the door shut before she could finish. 

Danny knew better. He was ready, and she would always walk out without a bra. After all, there's nothing wrong with a woman's body as it is. 

"So, I guess we're not done talking."

"Almost," Sam sat next to him on the bed, "I loved you before Ember. If she sustained that love longer than it was supposed to last, I'm grateful."

"I'm sensing a 'but' at the end of that sentence," Danny gulped. That sense of relief vanished once more.

"'But' we can't ever get married if there's a risk that her spell will wear off and we just won't love each other anymore."

"What are you saying? We break up?"

"No!" She stomped her foot, "I told you, I'm your forever girl. The only way we break up is if we legit want to. Not from fear."

"So…?"

"I don't know, Danny." She fell into his chest, prompting him to hold her, "Somehow, we have to find a way to know for sure."

"Oh," Danny reached for the gift under the bed. The jewelry box was from her favorite store, "Before I forget."

Sam was shocked to see it, but disappointed, "Danny, I just said we can't."

"No," Danny corrected her, "It's not a ring."

He opened the box and revealed a necklace with a crystal rose pendant. The bloom was purple, the stalk was black and the thorns were red.

"It's beautiful," she smiled. He put it on her and they lied back down. The conversation died out, but the two sat there for another half an hour, just enjoying being together.

Tucker was really starting to like Rachel. She may not have been the warmest person, but she was kind and caring. And it seemed like she always knew exactly how he was feeling. And bonus points for finding his lame jokes funny.

He thought she was starting to like him too, and he was almost certain until that comment about the sight being 'nice'. He would hate to ask her out and ruin their friendship if she wasn't into him. And if she was gay, she definitely wasn't into him. 

"You gonna tell me what's wrong or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?" Rachel interrupted his train of thought.

"What?" Tucker was caught off guard, "What makes you think something is wrong?"

"I just asked if this jacket would work for a vampire costume and you said 'yes'."

"That's a bikini," Tucker pointed out, Not that he didn't appreciate the thought of replacing her black t-shirt and jeans with a pink bikini, "Vampires don't do well in the sun."

"That's my point," Rachel put the bikini back on the rack, "You're not paying attention. You haven't been since we left the dorm. Surely, you didn't want to see Sam naked that badly?"

"You know I did," He said sarcastically, glad she set him up perfectly, "And don't call me Shirley."

He got the smile from her he was hoping for, she slapped him playfully, "Seriously, what's up?"

He thought about asking her out right there. Of course, he knew he would chicken out. But would it be awkward if he asked her if she was gay? But then she would want to know why that would be bothering him. And there is no good answer to that.

"Whatever it is, I won't judge you," she put her hand over his and a wave of trust washed over him. He was just about to confess his feelings.

"Rachel!" A friendly voice shouted, followed by an adorable laugh. Tucker looked behind him and saw a young woman with tan skin floating toward them quite quickly, crashing into Rachel with a hug.

"Kory," Raven greeted her friend a little more formally, her voice still monotone, "What are you doing here?"

"We are here to see you!" Kory released her friend, "We have been looking everywhere for you!"

"It's true," Another old friend walked up behind Tucker, "We waited at your dorm a few times, but you never showed up." He was a tall young man with black hair and a clean shaven face. His voice seemed to carry a little authority in it.

"Sorry, but I made a few new friends surprisingly quickly," She grabbed Tuckers arm, "Speaking of, Tucker, this is Kory and Dick."

Tucker stood there staring at the nearly orange skinned girl who was still levitating, he pointed at her and could only utter a word, "Floating."

"Oh," The girl hopped down and was now standing on solid ground, "Sorry, I'm not supposed to do that in public. I got excited."

"Yea," Rachel carried the word as she tried to think of a way to explain it, "Remember a few weeks ago when I was talking about people with abilities all over the world? Kory can fly."

"Uh huh," Tucker was still absorbing the information. That would explain why Rachel would have looked into it so much.

"But only a couple feet off the ground," She looked at her friend, almost as if instructing her. Kory sheepishly put her hands behind her head and stuck her tongue out.

"So, Tucker," Dick took over the conversation, "What kind of eateries you recommend around here?"

"Oh, Nasty Burger is the best place in town," He was very confident in his claim, "It's quick, cheap, and delicious. And they have one in the food court."

"Tell me, friend," Kory leaned over toward him, now that he wasn't focusing on her flight, he could see how lean she was. And her eyes were a beautiful emerald green, and the NASA crop top showed off her muscular abs quite well, "How is it that a burger can be both delicious and nasty?"

"Nasty in how bad they are for you, delicious in taste," He explained with pride, "Personally, it's worth it."

"Look out!" Dick shouted, grabbing Tucker and Kory and throwing them into a clothing rack just in time. 

A pale man in a trench coat rode by on a motorcycle, swerving as often as he could to knock down the displays and clothing racks. 

"Get back here!" Danny Phantom shouted, chasing after him.

"You go through the wall!" Spectre Assassin called, "I'll take the escalator!"

Tucker finally managed to climb out of the clothes rack. He wished he could help Danny, but couldn't leave without raising suspicion. Speaking of which….

"Where did Dick go?" Tucker asked,looking around for the man in question.

"He's watching the chase," Rachel sighed, frustrated, "He can't resist a motorcycle."

"Shall we journey to the Nasty Burger?" Kory asked as she climbed out of the clothes, a pair of pants still covering her head. 

Tucker escorted both girls to the food court, finding it a bit strange that they could see a superhero chase and act so unfazed. But he pushed it out of his mind. He was walking through the mall with _two_ beautiful women. Sure, he was pretty confident Kory was dating Dick, but at least he _looked_ like a ladies man for once.

Rachel felt a surge of confidence in Tucker. She didn't know what could have caused it, but she was happy his uncertainty seemed to have vanished for now. 

"So…" Rachel was hesitant to ask, "Kory, did Gar…" she trailed off.

"It is just me and Dick," Kory replied solemnly, "Garfield thought it would be best if he did not accompany us. And Victor did not want to leave him home alone."

"And Gar is…" Tucker asked, afraid he was invading, but his curiosity needed sated. Besides, who was actually named Garfield?

"Nobody," Rachel responded.

"Her former lover," Kory answered at the same time, "Oh, was that... a secret?"

Rachel stopped in her tracks, her face was clenched and she was muttering something under her breath, though Tucker couldn’t make it out.

"Rachel…?" Kory reached out but her hand was slapped away, "I am sorry. I did not mean to upset you."

“Why did you come!?!” Rachel was sharp, now suddenly very impatient. Tucker was afraid of what she might do. He shouldn’t have asked anything about this guy, it wasn’t his place.

“We… We just missed you,” Kory was visibly upset, her lip quivering and brow scrunched. 

“Bullshit!” Rachel snapped, “Dick just wanted to keep tabs on me, didn’t he!”

Tucker scooched further away from her. Was her hair flying? Is there a breeze? There… must be. Right? 

*SLAP* Kory straight up bitch smacked Rachel, a single tear flowing down her own cheek. Rachel was caught completely by surprise and could only look on in awe as her hair fell back down.

“How dare you accuse us of such things,” Her voice was quiet as she spoke, “You are my best friend, and I was worried about you. And while it may be true that Dick was hoping to meet the Phantom, you know we love you and we would never betray your trust.”

The dark haired empath, in the most jarring display of intimacy Tucker ever expected to see from her, stood up and hugged her best friend tightly. He could swear he heard a whimper from her, but knew better than to ever bring it up.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel finally managed, after a few more whimpers, “I know you love me. But, I thought I knew Gar loved me,” Her voice cracked saying his name.

“I will never forgive him for hurting you,” Kory embraced her gothic friend, stroking her purple hair, “I know you said you did not want to divide our group, but I cannot look at him the same anymore.”

“Don’t do that,” Rachel backed away, “It’s not his fault. If he wasn’t happy with me, we both would have suffered if we stayed together.”

This seemed fresh, but that is an oddly rational way to look at a breakup so soon. On one hand, Tucker now knew she was straight. On the other hand, this girl he had grown to care for was hurt and he didn’t know how to help. On the other-other hand, he knew she was single. And he was still intruding on this extremely personal moment. He certainly wasn’t at this level of friendship with her, and he hoped she wouldn’t hold it against him.

“Should I go?” Tucker gulped, now feeling confident enough to talk, “Or…?”

“No!” Rachel reached out and grabbed his arm, “I’m sorry, this was supposed to be our time. It became about _him.”_

“Yes,” Kory grabbed his other arm, but she was clearly only doing it to match Rachel, “Come, Let us continue toward the Nasty Burgers.”

Tucker pointed out that she didn’t need to pluralize the burger, eliciting a slight chuckle from Rachel once more. He may be able to save this day yet. Plus, he just got a lot of information. She is recently single, and if not recently it left a hell of a mark on her. She is into guys. Even in pain, she is rational. And if the way she just grabbed his arm is any indication, she feels pretty attached to him. Now all he had to do was find out when they broke up and decide if it’s too soon…. As if he would be able to wait anyways. Patience was never his strong suit.

\-----

As the superhero couple gave chase, Danny used his ecto blasts to force Johnny on the least destructive path, Sam was Struggling to keep up, but she knew she would have to use her light grenade as soon as Johnny launched his shadow. She used her whip, now just a regular whip since the mechanical one was destroyed by Skulker, and swung from the hanging lights, boosting her speed.

Eventually her whip failed to wrap around and she fell, only to be caught by another motorcycle. It took her only a moment to recognize the red bike with iconic 'R' on the riders helmet. The R-Cycle.

"Get on the front!" The Titans leader shouted over the sound of his engine. She maneuvered very carefully to stabilize herself in front of the vehicle. Robin was able to catch up to the ghost in no time. 

"Shadow!" Johnny commanded upon seeing how close they were, "Get her!"

Johnny's shadow leapt from underneath the motorbike and tackled Sam off the vehicle. She was barely able to pull the pin off the grenade. 

"Keep going!" She shouted to the Titan, her job was to take care of the shadow, they could get Johnny without her. 

Robin didn't hesitate, even as he saw the flash of light from behind him. She knew what she was doing. He weaved his bike between shoppers and jumped over people Johnny had already knocked down. If this kept up, Johnny was going to seriously hurt someone.

Danny blasted in front of Johnny, attempting to cut off his path. Johnny, however, was able to find an alternate path through the mall's front window.

Glass shattered outward as Johnny crashed through. Danny flew down and grabbed a woman with an infant, allowing the glass to pass safely through them. Exactly what Johnny was hoping for, as it gave him the time to open a portal to the ghost zone and ride in.

"No you don't!" Robin's grappling hook grabbed his back wheel just before the creep could make it through. He turned his wheel and pulled Johnny back into the living realm, slamming the ghost’s bike into a fire hydrant and knocking Johnny into the ground.

"It's over," Robin dismounted his bike and stood over him. Trained by the best detective in the world, he noticed the bag Johnny hid in his jacket. He extended his staff and knocked the bag out before pinning Johnny to the ground with the steel rod.

"Hey, come on," Johnny pleaded, "Go easy on me. I was just trying to get my girl something nice."

Danny grabbed the bag, several hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry. He had never been so tempted in his life.

"Somehow I doubt even one of these were for Kitty," Danny scolded, "Unless you got caught."

"He a regular of yours?" Robin asked, pushing the rod harder.

"Johnny 13," Danny explained, "A smooth talking womanizer with a bad luck shadow."

"Smooth talking?" Johnny asked, "I didn't know you thought so highly of me."

Danny hit him with a weak ecto-bolt. It was just enough to keep Johnny quiet while Danny frisked the perp, finding a handful of hidden rings and necklaces.

Danny popped the thermos and trapped Johnny, garnering the applause of the shoppers around them.

"What brings you to town?" Danny put the thermos on his belt and destroyed what remained of Johnny's bike.

"Just visiting a friend," Robin answered, noticing the people moving in, "Roof?" He used his grappling hook to swing up before Danny could answer. Robin's bike drove itself away. 

"You know, we sent you a few invitations over the years." Robin leaned against the glass rooftop as Danny came above the ledge.

"I figured you might bring that up," Danny chuckled, "Sorry, I didn't want to leave my town."

Robin shook his head, "You wouldn't have had to. If you had replied we could have talked about it. You could have our resources, and we would give you a communicator. You could ask for back up, and we could call you if we ever need you."

Great. Present tense. These guys never give up.

"Though, I guess we could have sent an actual person to explain things."

"You never told me they invited us," Sam said as she made it up the rooftop, "How did they know who to send it to?"

"Not 'they'," Robin corrected, "Just me. I figured it out. But don’t worry, I didn't tell anyone."

"Well thanks," Danny said, a tad defensive, "But that's part of the reason I can't join you. You know who we are, but we don't know anything about you."

"That's fair," Robin agreed. "Of course, if you joined, that information would be available to you. We could offer you a lot."

"We'll talk about it," Sam said, looking through the glass ceiling, she could see Tucker and Rachel eating with some strange girl, "For now, we have a prior engagement with our computer guy."

"Tell Tucker he's invited too," Robin said, proving he knows who ‘the computer guy’ is as well, "The cyber support aspect of this job is criminally underrated."

Danny grabbed Sam's hand and they phased through the ceiling of the shopping center. He flew her into a vacant stall in the restrooms for her to change before taking the bag of jewels back to the vendor. He then went into the mens room to revert to his human self. 

"Oh, god," Danny grabbed his nose but it still couldn't block out the sulfuric egg smell. It was so vulgar he had to run out. He waited patiently for Sam to come out.

"Hey," She smiled at him, "Ready to go?"

"Yea," he laughed, "Next time, let's use a changing room."

"Why? They'll notice we never went in."

"At least it doesn't smell."

Sam laughed at him, realizing how bad the men's room must have been. 

"Deal with it."

The smell of chinese food mixing with pretzels and burgers began to pervade the air as they made their way to the food court. It was a welcome change for Danny.

"Hey guys," Sam took a seat next to Rachel, leaving Danny the seat between her and the unknown girl.

"Hello, stranger," Kory greeted them, "Have you forgotten your food?" She offered one of the many burgers from her plate, "It tastes great with mus-tard."

"Uhmm," Danny was a bit scared of her offer. Most people would be more wary of someone they hadn't met.

"She's cool," Tucker said, assuring Danny she wasn't going to poison him, "Her name's Kory."

"Thank you, Kory," He reluctantly took one of the burgers from her mountain. A glob of mustard drooped from the burger as he picked it up, landing on the rest of them. 

He took a bite and tried his best not to be rude. Way too much mustard. He forced a smile and the strange girl smiled in return before shoving an entire burger in her mouth at once.

"Hey, guys," The tall, dark haired friend returned.

"Dick," Rachel greeted, "Did you have fun?"

Danny couldn't help but feel this guy looked familiar.

"I did," He smiled, "I had never seen a bike like that before. I wish I could have seen it closer, before the heroes wrecked it."

"I'm sure they had good reason," Danny replied, "Like, a bike that can travel between dimensions isn't something that can be taken lightly."

"Not saying it was a mistake," Dick clarified, "Just a bit of a shame."

He sat down and took one of Korys burgers, using a napkin to take off the excess mustard. She didn't seem to be offended.

"So, Kory, ready to go home?" He asked his girlfriend.

"Must we?" She sounded broken hearted, "We just found her!"

"I know," he sighed, "But we've been here 3 days and I told Victor we'd be back home tonight. We just came to make sure she was okay, we can't intrude on her new life."

"You're not intruding," Rachel said softly, "But I appreciate the concern. Go home, we can talk later about scheduling a visit. Thanksgiving break is just around the corner."

The groups said their goodbyes and parted ways. Sam, Danny, Tucker, and Rachel continued their halloween shopping as planned.

"I maintain my position," Tucker defended himself, "That bikini would make an excellent vampire costume. Plus, it's on clearance."

"You just want to see her in a bikini," Sam laughed.

"That's not true!" Tucker defended himself once more, "You just don't see a lot of vampires in bikinis. It would be unique!"

"I mean," Rachel held the bikini in question against herself, "I _could_ go try it on."

"Yea?" Tucker may have been a little too happy to hear that.

"No," She said sternly, "Vampires don't do sun." She put it back on the rack and laughed at him.

"Oh, come on!" He exclaimed. He didn't mind being the butt of the jokes when it got Rachel to smile.

"It would just be a tease anyways," she winked at him. She walked by him and brushed his shoulder with hers, "You guys wanna go watch a movie?"

"I've heard good things about The Babadook!" Sam exclaimed, clutching the fabric she bought for her costume. She had already fastened a wig out of red yarn and tried on her make up. She and Danny were going to be Jack Skellington and Sally. 

"Horror," Rachel smiled, "A change of pace from the children's movies."

"Well," Danny scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. He had been watching disney movies and comic movies since he was fourteen to make sure he kept his inner child alive. It was the only way to make sure he would be able to see Youngblood whenever he showed up, "Can't be childish all the time."

"I'm up for it," Tucker said. Watching a movie in the dorm meant he got to sit next to Rachel. 

"Can you two keep your clothes on?" Rachel pointed at the couple.

“no promises,” Sam laughed.

“If you can’t, Tucker and I will have to join in," Rachel threatened with a smirk.

"Well, now…" Danny entertained the thought.

"No!" Sam smacked him, "Only me, Danny."

But the playful atmosphere went dead once the group stepped outside the mall.

"Crows…" Sam gulped. She had been having the same nightmare every night. She hadn't told anyone but Rachel, who was quick to grab her hand.

Thousands of crows surrounded the mall, murders took over the night sky. She didn't know this many crows existed in Amity Park.

Danny's ghost sense went off and he ran behind a tree before transforming and phasing through the ground to reappear in the parking lot.

"Danny!" Rachel shouted. How dare he abandon Sam like this?

"Let's go!" Tucker grabbed his two goth friends and rushed them past a wave of birds.

"Arhg!" A pirate was waiting for them in the opening, he tackled Rachel to the ground.

Tucker wasted no time in punting the scoundrels head, knocking him off Rachel

Sam watched in bewilderment as Rachel jumped to her feet and launched something at another pirate.

"What was that?" Tucker asked her.

"A knife." Her reply was sharp, "Let's get Sam out of here."


	4. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faced with a new enemy, Danny struggles to protect the town as Sam deals with her prophetic dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit shorter than usual, but a lot of plot happens in this one. With Covid-19 and general depression I think I may be a little longer with the next chapter. But I will try to get it out soon.

Tucker grabbed a nearly catatonic Sam and followed Rachel who had proven herself more capable than either of them had ever suspected. She was able to take out pirates left and right, using whatever she could reach as a weapon. Thank God all their attention was on her, because there was no way he could fight and take care of Sam at the same time.

"This doesn't make sense," Tucker got a moment of relief when the trio was finally able to make it to Fenton Works, "How did the pirates even get here? We aren't anywhere near the coast!"

"They're ghosts, Tucker," Rachel took a second to meditate and regain her composure. She helped Sam sit down and straightened her wig. The poor girl couldn't comprehend what was going on. 

"Danny…" She muttered. All she knew was that he had gone off. Again. To fight pirates in front of a murder of crows.

"He's fine," Raven assured her, knowing there was no way to actually prove that, "He's fine. He's safe and you _will_ see him again."

"How do you know they're ghosts?" Tucker asked, "They've been on the news almost 2 weeks and nobody said anything about ghosts."

"You're assuming these are the same pirates," Rachel told him. He had to concede there, as Amity has had Ghost Pirates in the past, but Youngblood has upped his game if this was him, "And my… knife… didn't pierce anything. None of my attacks really landed the way they should."

Her explanation felt like she was leaving something out, but she shifted her focus to Sam, whom Rachel could tell was losing control of her emotions more and more.

"He's out there…" Sam's voice was hollow, her gaze seemed to go on for miles.

"Kids?" Maddie could be heard from the kitchen, "Who's there?"

"It's us, Mrs. Fenton!" Tucker called back. He left Sam to Rachel and went to talk with Maddie, "There's ghosts outside, we got separated from Danny!"

"Take the girls to the OP-Center," Maddie ordered, dismissing for the moment that one of them was a stranger. "We've seen the radar. Every single one of those crows is a ghost. We were hoping you would stop by here."

She pulled her hood over her face and donned her Jack-o-nine-tails while Jack ate nachos, "I'm gonna go save my son, or I'm not a Fenton!"

The door was promptly kicked open as she dove out head first into a horde of ghosts.

"Man, that's hot!" Jack exclaimed, throwing the nachos behind him and following her in a not so graceful manner, falling down the stairs of the stoop he landed on one of the pirates. 

Tucker activated the buildings anti-ghost defenses and showed Rachel the way to the OP-Center. He always thought Jack was crude about Maddie, but seeing Rachel kick ass today helped him understand it.

Rachel sat Sam down again and looked at the controls of the room. "He's fine, Sam," She promised once more. She changed frequencies on the radar, adjusted the ghost shield, and sent out an S.O.S. to a secure channel.

"How do you know how to do all that?" Tucker watched in amazement. She could fight and she knew how to use high tech survival equipment. What else did he not know about her?

"All this tech and they don't have a tracker on their children?" She stood up, ignoring his question, and threw down her jacket, "Stay here, help her. I'm gonna go find Danny."

"You can't go out there!" Tucker pleaded, "This isn't a normal ghost attack! Even Danny doesn't know what he's up against!"

"I'm sure the Phantom will figure something out," Rachel rolled her eyes, "But I have to get Danny for Sam. She… shit!"

Sam had lost consciousness and fell off the chair she had been sat in. Rachel dove down and caught her just before she smacked her face into the floor, "You're supposed to be helping her!"

She rolled her friend over and laid her on her back. The shock seemed to have gotten to her. 

"Tucker," She sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "I know you're worried about me, but Sam needs us right now. Can you please just… trust me?"

Tucker's stern expression softened and he looked away, "Just be careful. I'll open the door once you get down there, but any ghosts already in the shield will be ready for you."

"I promise you, they aren't," She scoffed and grabbed one of Maddie's batons before sliding down the fire pole.

"Man, Jack was right," Tucker said to himself once she was out of earshot, "That _is_ hot!"

Danny, meanwhile, had been caught in a nonstop battle with numerous pirates. His thermos was at capacity already. It wasn't particularly difficult to fight them, if it wasn’t for the sheer number. It seemed like no matter how many he beat they kept coming back. One ecto blast after another just left him winded

"Of course," He smirked to himself, realizing how stupid he had been, "You guys just need to chill out."

He jumped back and took a knee on the ground, placing his palm against the grass, he spread his cryokinetic energy as far as he could, freezing any pirates in place. He walked through the frozen battlefield trying to determine where they were coming from when he heard screaming from over the quarry and saw several flying crewmen carrying young girls with black hair and black clothes.

"Too far, Youngblood!" He cried out as he took to the air to follow them. He wasn't fast enough to get the girls before they landed, but it was more important that he saw where they would be going.

They landed on the opposite side of the quarry, where Danny had been meeting Ember. He looked around, making sure she wasn't in danger.The girls had been dropped in front of a hunchbacked man with scaly skin, who upon closer inspection, actually turned out to be a turtle. Huh.

"No!" The turtle shouted, "You fools! This isn't her! You've seen the painting a thousand times!"

More girls were brought down, all with black hair and clothes. Though, they were more variant in age. As young as 13 and as old as 45. The turtle man got angrier and angrier with each one.

"Have any of you _looked_ at the painting!?!" He shouted, "Black hair, black dress, yes! But alabaster skin and violet eyes! It's a big world, I don't expect to find her easily but **_pay attention!_ **"

As he shouted the last bit, he drew a sword Danny hadn't seen and slit the last girls throat. The remaining girls started screaming and Danny's eyes went wide.

"No!" Danny shouted, unable to watch anymore. No amount of information was worth this. He tackled the ghostly turtle as the poor girl's body dropped to the gravel below, her blood staining the earth and cascading down into the waters of the quarry.

"I can have purple eyes!" One of the girls pleaded, "I'll wear contacts! I'll bleach my skin! Please!" She cried out, desperate to live through this.

Danny's assault caused all the pirates to focus on him, he beat the turtle mercilessly and forced him to retreat into his shell.

"I never liked the parrot, but at least he wasn't a murderer!" Danny grabbed the turtle's shell and used his cryokineses to freeze it from the outside.

"What parrot?" The turtle could be heard from inside his shell.

A sword went into Danny’s back, forcing him to cry out and end his assault on the reptile. The horde of pirates was back, and he was out of cryo energy to take them on. 

"Why?" He asked as he shot around the remaining girls, giving them a path to flee, "What did you benefit by killing her?!?"

The lack of answers only aggravated him more. He always used restraint, even with ghosts, but now they weren't coming back. They were disintegrating in his blasts and leaving nothing to regenerate. Any restraint was gone. But he couldn't keep it up. There were too many of them. 

When he was on the ground, he would get surrounded, but when he took to the air the crows would flock him back to the ground. It was a no win scenario and desperate times called for desperate measures.

Get," he took a breath. “Out”, he was getting light headed, "of my _TOWN!"_ is infamous ghostly wail was unleashed.

The sonic attack knocked back all the pirates and forced the crows out of the sky. Unfortunately, it also completely drained Danny of his powers. The crows came together and merged to form a ship. One massive ship with crows carved extensively into the woodwork. 

"That… can't be good," Danny dropped on all fours, arms shaking under his own weight, as a new enemy emerged from the bow of the ship. Several pirates grabbed him and pinned him to the ground. His exasperated breaths made it difficult to focus his vision.

  
  


"That!" The new enemy struggled to keep his balance as he walked forward, "Was not a pleasant experience, let me tell you."

He was a taller man with a black, short beard and piercing blue eyes. His hair was pulled back and he wore a captain's hat with a bandana underneath. The crows made more sense as he got closer, as Danny could see it wasn't just a cape. The man actually had feathered wings protruding from his shoulders.

"What is the meaning of all this ruckus?" He looked around at his men, "Really, who screams like that?"

"That…" The turtle finally emerged from his shell, "That would be this lad, Captain. He thought he would be a hero."

"This lad?" His nose twitched with confusion, "This puny guy is giving you that much of a fight?"

"You're not…" Danny hesitated as he carefully took his breath, "Youngblood…"

"Youngblood?" He took a step back and looked at himself, "No, I don't believe I am. I'm far too old for that kind of name. Captain Erik Crow, at your service."

"Captain!" The turtle interjected, "He disrespected us! There's no need…"

"Snapjaw!" The captain's voice went deadly, " _I_ will say when there is or isn't a need for _basic_ manners! Savvy?"

Snapjaw gulped in agreement.

"Now, as I was saying," he cleared his throat, "Captain Erik Crow, yada yada yada. To what do we owe said 'heroics'?"

Danny looked at the man, quizzically. Was he serious? Did he not understand what was going on?

"Well, Captain Crow," he was finally able to breathe again, "Your men had just murdered a young girl."

"Murdered?" His eyes were stern, "Snapjaw! Is this true?" He faced his second in command.

"I'm sorry, sir!" The turtle was practically shaking, "I lost my temper!"

"How are we supposed to find Beatrice if you are killing girls!" He shouted.

"I made sure it wasn't her!"

"What about the other girls?" He got in the turtles face, "Now any girl who may, or may not, in fact, be Beatrice will be hiding from us!"

It seemed like this man wasn't as vicious as his crew. He had a goal, and it seemed like this crew was just a means to an end. Danny tried to transform again, but still didn't have enough power.

"You've made our search that much harder!" He berated the turtle. Danny would have felt bad for the guy if he hadn't killed that girl, "Three hundred years of searching and you may have just added another three hundred!"

"Sir," Snapjaw said sheepishly, "What about the kid?"

"Oh," a light bulb went off over his head, "Snapjaw, you're a genius!"

"I am?"

"Of course!" The captain started pacing, waving his hands nonchalantly through the air as he talked to himself, "Kill him and make it look like he and the girl killed each other! We don't look like murderers, the boy is no longer a threat, although I don't know how he was a threat in the first place, and we can continue our search."

"What!?!" Danny exclaimed, "No! I thought you were reasonable!"

"Quiet, you!" Erik pointed his sword at Danny's head, "I'm having a rhetorical conversation! "

He walked away again, hands twirling as he mumbled to himself, "She's always been fond of animals, if she wasn't waiting for me on the shore, maybe she's somewhere defending them?"

It became clear the captain was no longer paying attention to the situation. Snapjaw raised his sword in sweet anticipation, but a sudden green bolt blasted it out of his hands. Followed by three more attacking the men holding Danny down. Before he knew what was going on, Danny found himself falling into the ground he was laying on, into a black abyss. He lost sight of everything as his vision was clouded by darkness. An empty void consumed everything, no sound could reach him.

A familiar scent brought him back to reality. He fell from the sky and was caught by a young woman in a blue hood. An ethereal energy radiated from her hands into his body.

"What the…?" Danny felt a surge of power, like she was jump-starting him.

"How are you feeling, Danny?" The hood shadowed her face, but he knew it was Raven from the teen titans. They hadn't left town yet, after all.

"Better now," He smiled before transforming, reinvigorated by her power, and flying out of her grip. 

He looked to the quarry, Snapjaw and Captain Crow were fighting Starfire and Robin, but the titans didn't have the skills to take on ghosts. Once the pirates learned their new foes moves they were able to phase through and counter attack. Danny flew toward them, blasting the pirates and getting their attention.

"Oh, of course!" Erik exclaimed, "He's the ghost boy the prisoner was warning us about!"

Crow was caught off guard when Danny phased through the ground and came back up to tackle him through the air. The two landed aboard his ship, The Murder. Crow was quick to leap to his feet. He drew his sword and challenged Danny.

Filling his fists with ecto-energy, Danny met the challenge, though Erik had a lot more experience in combat with a sword and Danny found himself unable to keep up with the footwork. Erik moved a lot differently than Youngblood, or Fright Knight. He couldn't get close without getting cut.

Danny flew behind a deckhand and grabbed his sword before kicking him overboard. He turned back just in time to parry an attack from the captain. Crow thrust again, Danny countered with a riposte. This style of sword fighting felt like instinct to the ghost child, he surprised himself with how easily the technique came to him. 

The two were nearly equal in skill, but Danny had been fighting for nearly seven years straight while the captain had his crew fight for him.

Danny side stepped behind the forward mast and used the extra second he bought himself to imbue his sword with his own ecto-energy. When next their blades met, a blast escaped his blade, traveling through the air and slicing Erik across the chest. He was blown back by the force and shock of the moment.

"Very clever!" Erik commended him, "I haven't had this much fun in centuries!"

Erik's wings expanded and he thrust forward again, Danny went to parry but Erik's wing knocked his blade down as it covered his body. The captain twirled around behind the giant wing, out of Danny's view, and used the distraction to disarm his opponent. 

Erik kicked Danny to the ground and raised his sword to deliver a killing below.

"Danny!" Sam cried out as the lights from the Fenton Blimp shone down on the duel.

"Sam?" He called back, shielding his eyes from the lights. She rapelled down from the hover-vehicle and landed on the opposite side of the captain, who turned to face his new foe.

"Beatrice?" Erik's voice carried a tone of both delight and surprise.

"Erik?" Sam responded, relaxing her battle stance momentarily as she struggled with who she was seeing.

"Beatrice?" Danny asked, "Wait… Erik?!?!" She recognized him? She was the one he was looking for? How? This guy had been dead for over 300 years.

Sam stumbled forward, struggling as a lifetime of memories invaded her mind. It didn't make sense, but she knew these faded memories were real.

"Easy, my darling," Erik spoke softly as he caught Sam, helping her keep her balance, "I assure you, this is not a dream. I have returned to you, just as I promised I would."

She struggled to look up and see his face, she pulled herself up by his collar and grabbed his face, feeling the rough hairs of his scratchy beard. 

"You're really here?" She smiled at him, it was as if the perfect man from her childhood fantasies came to life.

"I am," he stood proudly, "And we can set sail as soon as I have taken care of our guest."

He let go of Sam, making sure she could stand on her own and turned to face Danny, who got in a defensive pose once more.

Erik swung his blade but was forced to stop short as Sam had jumped between the two.

"No!" she called out as the blade stopped an inch from her face, a silence filled the air as the three of them stood there taking in the situation, "To have and to hold, in sickness and in health 'til death do we part, and we died."

"What are you saying, my love?" Melancholy filled his voice.

"I'm happy to see you," She sighed and looked down, these words felt like they were tearing her heart out, "But our time is over. I'm with him now." 

She grabbed Danny's hand and stepped next to him. His touch felt like it healed it her heart and brought a smile back to her face. He smiled back and wiped the tears she didn’t realize she had from her cheek.

"You love him?" Erik asked, lowering his sword.

"I do."

"Well," he sheathed his blade in a single, fluid motion, "I almost expected as much. It's been several lifetimes, after all. I'm glad just to know you're safe and happy."

"I am," She grabbed onto Danny's arm, staring deep into his glowing eyes, "I couldn't be happier."

"But I couldn't bear it if I couldn't be a part of your life," He said dramatically, placing his hand on Sam's cheek, "Might we still be acquainted?"

"You're a pirate," She grabbed his hand from her cheek and pulled it away from her, "The man I married was a naval officer, he fought pirates, he died fighting pirates. You think I would be okay with this? That I could be your friend knowing you're a criminal?"

She motioned overboard, pointing out the looting his men were doing, the crewmen who were still kidnapping girls with any resemblance to her.

"A means to an end, I assure you. In fact, now that I know you're safe," He pulled out a horn and blew it, signaling his crew to stop what they were doing and return.

"Beatrice!" Snapjaw exclaimed with joy as he appeared above deck, "Thank the gods!"

"Lieutenant Snapman?" Sam seemed to remember him as well, "Why am I not surprised to see you wrapped up in all this?"

"Snapjaw!" 

"Yes, Captain?"

"Our objective is complete," Erik stated, but Danny thought something about it was… off? "Disband the crew and cease any and all less than reputable activities."

Snapjaw bowed his head, "I swear it will be done."

He floated above the crew and took on the authority of his position, "Back to the ghost zone, the lot of ye! Tell yer tales of Cap'n Sparrow and the battle of the Halfa! The search for Beatrice! Or just retire and spend eternity wandering the expanses, but you can't stay here!"

The crew listened, almost too well, as they all headed east through the sky. They would have been faster with the ship, but the captain wasn't about to part with it.

"No more criminal activity, no more piracy, I can spend the rest of our… your lifetime atoning for my sins," The captain seemed sincere in his promise.

"No way!" Danny exclaimed, "You think that's enough to make up for…."

"Danny!" Sam interrupted him, "It's my choice. He just wants my friendship, don't be so jealous."

"Jealous?" He was livid, "They killed an innocent girl! Just because she wasn't you!"

"You what?!?" Sam turned toward Erik with a fire in her eyes that he hoped never to be on the receiving end of.

"No!" He denied it, "I never gave such an order. The girl died, yes, but it was an accident. She grabbed a sword and challenged Snapjaw. Alas, she didn't know how to handle a blade, poor thing, the recoil slashed her own throat."

"Are you kidding me?" Danny protested, "That's not how it happened! Turtle neck over there flat out murdered that girl!"

"Danny, I got this!" Sam asserted herself, "Snapman," she walked over toward the lieutenant. She never liked him, but he was spineless when confronted, from what she remembered, "Is that how it happened?"

The lieutenant looked away from her in fear, "Yes, Madam. I blocked her swing, but her sword bounced back and cut 'er."

"Erik," she sighed as she struggled with this, on one hand, Danny was telling her it was murder, on the other hand, she knew Erik would never lie to her. But neither would Danny, "Erik… Do you swear to me that's how it happened?"

"On my honor as a captain."

"What honor?" Danny challenged, "Her bodies right down there! She wasn't even holding a sword!"

The four of them looked overboard, and sure enough in the girls hand was a sword. Stained red with her own blood.

"No…" Danny stepped back, grabbing his face, "No, that's not… how it happened…"

"Danny," Sam grabbed him, quickly wrapping her arms around him, "It's okay. I believe you. In the heat of everything, you missed her swing. I'm sure it looked like murder but…"

"No!" Danny broke away from her embrace, "That's exactly what I saw! They're lying to you!"

"How could I ever lie to her?" Erik said, over dramatically, "If you truly love her, you would know that lying to your soulmate is impossible."

"I mean…," Sam got flustered, "Not _impossible_. But… it should be difficult."

Erik picked up on that. Danny had been lying, and recently.

"Blow it out your ass, Crow!" Danny got in his face, "I know what I saw!"

"Danny!" Sam pulled him back, "It's okay. They're done. The crew's gone. No more pirates. No more death. We won."

Frustration filled him more and more. He didn't know what to do now. There was no crime to prevent, Sam was on their side, and even he was beginning to doubt his own story.

Wrapping an arm around Sam, he flew up to the Fenton blimp and into the same window Sam rapelled from. He reverted back to his human form and started pacing back and forth.

Tucker looked out the window, making sure the Titans were safe, and started flying back to base. It looked like Starfire and Robin were leaving ahead of Raven.

"So, what, you're married to a pirate now?" Danny asked, accusingly.

"Excuse me?" She didn't like jealousy on Danny.

"Captain Erik Crow," Danny mocked his voice, "You actually married that guy?"

"He wasn't a pirate back then!" Sam defended, "He was a distinguished member of the kings navy! If you spent 300 years looking for me, you'd probably go down a pretty dark path too!"

"Wait… what?" Tucker was trying to keep up, "Sam's married?"

"Not now, Tuck!" The couple spoke in unison. 

"So what now?" Danny continued, "He sent his crew away so you guys can go get coffee together and catch up?"

"If I want to, yeah! You don't own me, Danny!"

"No, you're right. You should. Go spend your days with your perfect guy who never lies."

"Danny…" Sam fell into the co-pilots chair and started crying, "Why are you acting like this?"

Tucker latched the blimp back onto the Fenton Works building and excused himself, avoiding being a part of the awkward crying. But Danny and Sam both knew he would be listening in through the built in security system.

"What's wrong," Danny said in a soft voice, he didn't mean to make her cry. He never does. And today he did it twice. He knelt down in front of her and placed his hand on her thigh.

"You have… _no_ idea what I'm going through," She wiped her eyes and took a breath, "My mind feels like it's gonna collapse, I'm getting more and more memories. Someone _else's_ memories. On top of that, a husband from a past life shows up and I have to turn him away. I have to deal with the fact that this man I loved has turned to piracy. That his spirit isn't at peace and it's my fault."

She was in so much pain just telling the story, the words blubbering out through tears and snot.

"And you're not making it any easier! Why are you so jealous? You heard me tell him I'm with you! When guys hit on me, that's always been enough. You haven't been this jealous since Gregor, in ninth grade."

"Well, in my defense, you weren't married to any of those guys," Danny looked away in shame. He had been selfish.

"I'm not married to Erik," She said softly and grabbed Danny's hand. "Beatrice was. I may have been her at one point, but I'm not now."

"It's just…Well, you heard him…" He found it more and more difficult to make eye contact, "He said he's your soulmate. What if he's right? What if you're only staying with me because of Ember's love spell?"

"Stop that!" The sternness in her voice could have silenced a classroom, "I already told you we will deal with that, but I'm not ruining what I have with you out of paranoia or doubt. I. Love. You, Danny. Spell or no spell."

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, falling out of the chair and taking them both to the floor. She just laid there with him, crying into his chest. 

Danny knew better than to say anything. She needed to let it out now, so he held her tight and made sure she knew she could count on him. But he couldn't help but feel taunted by the crow in the window sill.

**Author's Note:**

> Special Thanks to Sarah Femboy for helping me get back into writing. You rock!


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